Flight
by Crescent-Ri
Summary: Aer has been living in Titan territory for a few years. Using her intelligent mind, she survived in the ruins of Wall Maria. When she is picked up by Corporal Rivaille, Titan-hunting isn't the first thing on her mind. OC x Rivaille, Eren x Mikasa Rated M just in case due to language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Rivaille's P.O.V.

"Rivaille, you're going to have to pick a new squad," Commander Erwin glanced at the said person. "Mikasa Ackerman would be a good choice. Eren Jaeger will be automatically selected into your squad due to your responsibility over him. I gave you two months to heal, and during that time I expected you to look around for new squad members."

"Fine," The dark corporal glared at his superior. "I want a month to select new members."

"Don't think that you won't be working during that month. I've assigned you to accompany a group traveling outside the walls. Ackerman will be notified and she and Jaegar shall report to your office after your return." Erwin returned to reading his papers. " That is all. You're dismissed."

Aer's P.O.V.

Step one, step three, jump, then curtsy. I was surprised I had remembered ballet, much less the dance steps to _Swan Lake. _Dancing wasn't really my priority. I glanced outside, where a seven-meter class was walking around, looking for humans to prey on.

I sighed and looked at my stack of gas tanks I had saved. The day the Shiganshina District fell, I had managed to gather roughly six gas tanks, each half-filled. The process in which I had used to get them however, was enough for me to lose my appetite for three days. I hadn't escaped to the refugee boats, though I guessed they would have let me into the boat due to my young age at that time. It had been a few years after the Wall fell, but I had lost track counting the minutes that turned into hours, that turned into days, and eventually, years.

"What do you think?" I whispered to a tiny black bird. "Should I go and kill the Titan? I'm running low on food anyway." I had built up a collection of nuts and berries that I knew by mind were edible.

Surviving in Titan territory wasn't easy. I hadn't taken training for the 3D Maneuver Gear so I was unprepared when I had successfully managed to steal a harness, gear, and a few gas tanks from dead soldiers. It sickened me to steal from the deceased, but I had resolved to live on for the purpose of killing Titans.

Revenge drove me on and I was still alive. The Survey Corps occasionally passed by, but I had always hid. In my childhood, they were known as brave heroes who had enough courage to go out and kill Titans for humanity's sake.

I now knew that almost half of the Survey Corps die.

They hadn't been in exact danger when they passed by so I didn't risk it to come out. Only if someone was dying. It was my rule these days, never come out unless one's life is in danger.

I had been eaten and had survived. The Titan that caught me was a three-meter class and not a chewer. It swallowed me whole, and I landed in what I presumed was its stomach. I found a soldier that was alive as well. His right arm had been bitten off, but he recognized me. And I recognized him.

He was part of the Garrison, my father's friend. He gave me his harness, set of gear, and his gas tanks. Then he sank below the putrid waters, dead. I was horrified, but his death encouraged me to live on.

I cut myself out of the Titan's stomach. It was thick, and one would have to scrape away at it, breaking so many of my mother's ladylike rules. When I got out, I cut the Titan's neck. By then, the refugee boats had left.

I had grown accustomed to using 3D Maneuver Gear on flat land with few trees. I was quite small for my age, and due to my rich upbringing, I had taken gymnastics. I took advantage of my agility, weight, and height and reduced the amount of gas I used each day as well as making it a daily habit of killing five Titans per day. There were probably a lot more than that, but starting small would be my best option.

"I'll go kill it, okay?" I tapped the bird on its small, feathered head. "Wait here for me." I brushed my hair through with a comb and tied it up into a ponytail. Taking two blades, I set out. The Titan immediately spotted me and came running toward me.

I swung toward a normal-sized tree and waited. Once the Titan was only a few meters away and reaching for me, I jumped toward the ground. Running around the Titan's feet away from the tree, I hooked the gear into one of his eyes, blinding it. I unhooked and ran to the side of his injured eye. Swinging myself back up onto the tree, I cut his neck, as it was right in front of me due to him turning around when I had ran onto the ground.

The blood burned and I wiped it onto my already-bloody clothes. There was no time for normal things, like laundry or cooking, but I still dearly missed it. I turned and plucked an apple from the tree, biting into the red fruit. The blackbird flew back, landing on my right shoulder. I reached behind me and pulled the ribbon holding my hair together. It fell in gentle waves that framed my small face.

"I reached my goal today too." I smiled. The sun was setting, meaning I should probably head back. I stayed in a small country village, with little to no houses, making normal combat with smaller Titans harder, but around it, there were many fruit orchards and plants that could enable my survival in this God forsaken world.

The next morning I was awake when I heard the horses. They were close, and I cursed myself. I had killed a fifteen-meter class not even five minutes before. The corpse was still steaming, and I heard someone curse.

"One three-meter Deviant type!" Someone, probably a male, yelled. "Six o'clock!" I heard the thumping of horses and a scream. There was a giant crash, and more screaming. I automatically reached for a blade then paused halfway.

Another scream and I was out the door with my two fullest gas tanks, and a full set of blades. The Survey Corps were doing their mission again and I wondered why they didn't use the gear to spirit themselves away. I then noticed that they were in the area with no trees or obstacles to hook onto whatsoever.

I began running toward the Titan, blades out. The horses were circling the Titan. "Use the gear!" I yelled as I neared. They were still running and I saw a man on a brown horse look at me. Judging by his glare, he was most likely the leader.

"This is flatland! We can't use our gear!" He yelled back and scowled at me. "What squad are you from, Cadet? I don't recognize you." Ignoring him, I swung into the Titans reach, landing on its shoulder. The head slowly turned toward me and I took the opportunity to swing down, and landed on the wrist a few feet away from where the soldier was held.

"Calm down," I ordered. "You're making me panic." With a clean slice, I severed the Titan's hand from its arm. I took another blade and threw it directly at the eyes. It met its mark and the Titan reared back. I hooked myself onto the shoulder and cut a chunk of flesh from its neck out.

It came crashing down and I lightly hopped off. "I'm Aer." I introduced myself to the bad-tempered squad leader. "But why can't you use gear on flatland? I mean, I use it all the time and nothing's bad. Does it malfunction out in the country or something?"

"Cadet, state your squad leader." The guy replied stiffly. "You will be punished for sneaking away and joining this mission. Come think of it, where is your horse?" He made a _tsk _sound and looked around.

"Never mind." I gave up all hopes of joining the Survey Corps. If they were this formal, I would rather stay in my little abandoned town. "Just saying, but one: I don't have a horse. Two: I'm not part of the Survey Corps. Three: I did not sneak away. In fact if normal laws still existed, I could fine you for destruction of property!"

He raised his eyebrows at me. "Aer, was it? I'm Corporal Rivaille. Welcome to my squad." It took me a minute to process his words and another minute to realize the definition of that last sentence.

"This is your squad?" I asked skeptically. They seemed like beginners, but the name Rivaille was well-known in my former village. "This is the Special Operations Squad?" I had heard they were an elite team, known for performing many solo and team kills. I also heard Lance Corporal Rivaille was 'Humanity's Strongest Warrior.' When my mother spoke of him, I could hear the capital letters in her voice.

A squad member handed me the reins to a lone horse, most likely an extra they brought along. "This isn't my squad," Rivaille said. I noticed dark shadows under his eyes from lack of sleep. "They all died in the last mission."

I didn't really know what to say. The ride back was silent. "I would say I'm sorry," I muttered, "But saying that doesn't help. So this is what I'll say. I hope it doesn't happen again." I didn't think he heard me, but he raised his head, a gesture that meant he had heard.

Rivaille's P.O.V.

Damn. I couldn't believe the girl. She wasn't even in the proper uniform and the harness she wore was too loose on her small frame. "How old are you?" I was pretty sure she was a trainee who snuck away, thinking she could rise to fame by killing a Titan. It wouldn't be the first story I had heard from many others.

"I'm turning seventeen soon. Or maybe I already did turn seventeen." She pondered and I had the urge to smack her. How could someone not know their age? "Let's say my age is estimated around the seventeen-twenty five range. I lost track."

She was pretty enough to compensate for her height. Unlike other trainees, her thick black hair was loose and she had crystal blue eyes. I couldn't help taking peaks at her, but when she looked in my direction, I kept my face turned toward the front.

"You're really emotionless, aren't you?" She tilted her head at me. Somehow, she managed to urge her horse forward so she and I were riding side by side.

"Shut up the hell up." I replied, keeping my head straight.

"And cold. And uncaring it seems. The list of adjectives to describe you can trail on forever…" When she noticed my cold glare, she quieted. However, she still hummed a small tune to herself, making me annoyed.

"Think you can stop it with the humming?"

"Why are you so _negative?" _Aer complained. "Look at them!" She pointed at the rest of the small squad. "They're half freaked out to death and you're worrying about a small tune. We need some happiness here."

"I wish you would be half-freaked out to death," I quietly muttered, then raised my voice. "Why are you so _annoying?_" She had the nerve to sneak away from her training and to raise her voice against a superior? Her future wasn't looking too bright by any means.

Aer's P.O.V.

When we arrived at the gates, I let out a huge sigh of relief. Rivaille and I had bickered back and forth, making the rest of the squad uncomfortable. He was just so disagreeable! My parents even told me it was my second nature to prove my point. That guy just needed to relax.

"Cadet Aer…what is your last name?" A tall man stood in front of me. "Where is your uniform?" He didn't wear the cloak of the Survey Corps nor did he seem like someone of lower rank from a military commander.

"It's just Aer." I glared at Rivaille who was standing aside, leaning against the wall and smirking at me. "I'm not in the military. I never applied, never went through training, and never even glance at the sheet-thing you have to fill to get into training in the first place. I'm a plain girl who happens to have a very intellectual mind to survive in Titan territory as well as having a excellent childhood. Do you know where my father is? He's in the military too. I'm sure he can explain everything."

"Very well." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rivaille stand up, about to walk away. "Who is your father?"

"Mike Zakarius." Rivaille paused and slowly turned around. I saw a hint of sadness in his eyes. "Where is he? I haven't seen him in a year! I'm sure he can explain this and clear my little situation."

"Zakarius died on a mission." The tall man intoned. "He sacrificed himself to allow his squad to escape. His body was never found nor did anyone see his death. It is presumed he most likely died."

My knees buckled out from under me. "So he's dead? Really?" My voice ended in a squeak. "But Mom…she told me to find Dad. She told me that before getting eaten by a Titan. Along the way, I was separated from my older brother, Onyx, and my younger sister, Lilli."

"I'm sorry." The man said softly. "But I'm afraid we'll have to send you to the farms to raise crops for the food shortage." His gruff exterior had softened. "Unless you want to apply for the army."

I was about to shake my head when I heard Rivaille. "I'll accept her into my squad." He clapped a hand onto my shoulder. I was about to speak when he glared at me, his eyes boring into mine, silencing me. "She has decent skill in 3D Maneuver Gear and saved one of the trainees today."

"Corporal." The tall man addressed him respectfully. "She hasn't received proper training."

"She will," he said, smiling in a way that made me inch away from him. "And I'll be the one to teach her."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Aer's P.O.V.

"Fill this out." Rivaille threw a sheet of paper at me, making it flutter a bit. I glanced down and scanned over the questions. "You're Zakarius's oldest daughter. I doubt he wouldn't make you undergo basic training."

I hated him because he was right. Wordlessly, I took the paper and left, not waiting to be dismissed. This asshole was definitely not gaining my respect.

As soon as I entered the courtyard where a few trainees were running laps, I heard someone call my name. "Aer!" I turned and saw a tall Asian girl and a tall boy. "You're Aer, right?"

"Yes," I said uncertainly. I didn't recognize them, and I was pretty sure they weren't talking to me because they recognized me as Zakarius's daughter. He had blonde hair, I had black. I was adopted into his family. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

"I'm Eren," the boy introduced himself. "This is Mikasa. We were wondering how you lived in Titan territory. There's a rumor going around the squads right now that say you've survived in the ruins of a country village in Wall Maria."

The rumors were, surprisingly, spot on. "Yeah." I muttered. "Titans rely on sense of sight and hearing. If they can't see or hear a human, they won't attack. It all matters on how stealthy and careful you are. You guys wouldn't happen to know where to find a pen, would you?"

"Is that the sheet for signing up for the army?" Eren asked. "Why are you already promoted to Rivaille's squad if you haven't gone through the regular training for joining any of the military sections?"

Mikasa was silent, staring at something. I realized she was looking at my clothing. I wore some clothes that I had scavenged out of some random clothes. To make it look a bit cheerier and a bit more like me, I embroidered the sleeves with some patterns that I had remembered from a long time ago. "Where did you learn that embroidery?"

"Oh…yeah it's not really good. Sewing and ladylike stuff isn't exactly my strength." I remembered the days in which I would prick my fingers with the damn needle almost every single hour. "But I learned it from a long time ago. I can't really remember."

Eren's eyes looked at my hair. "Are you Asian?"

Was that a trick question? "Yes."

Mikasa motionlessly engulfed me in a big hug. "Then we're almost like sisters! I'm Asian as well. Squad members bunk together too." She was interrupted by Rivaille who had walked out of his office.

"Aer, you done with that paper yet? I gave you five minutes to fill it out and hand it back to me." He made another _tsk _sound. "If it isn't complete, you get to run laps until dinnertime." I glared at him.

"Hell no." Again, we were back to square one with the bickering. "Unfortunately, I have not been officially registered into the Survey Corps. Consider me a volunteer. If it bothers you, I can always return to deserted village, sweet home."

I felt Eren and Mikasa look at me with surprised looks on their faces. Rivaille spoke through gritted teeth. "The new squad is to report to my office after dinner. All of you, go train or something."

"Can you guys teach me how to use the 3DMG?" I asked. "I never really practiced a lot. The gas was too precious for me to waste practicing." We had started walking toward the training forest where trainees practiced killing Titans.

"Sure." Eren said uncertainly. "We should invite Armin too, Mikasa."

"Armin?"

"He's a friend of ours." Mikasa clarified.

"Just wondering, Eren are you one of those Titan-shifters?" There was this aura around him that made me think that. "You seem like one."

Immediately, he and Mikasa froze. "Yes, I am one of the Titan-shifters." Eren said slowly. "But how do you know about that?"

"Intuition." I replied. "Did you go to the basement yet?" Again, he and Mikasa were frozen stiff. "I guess not."

"How do you know about the basement?" Mikasa asked. "Have you been there?" I flashbacked to when I stumbled upon it. It was locked, but there was a hole in the side, which I could peer through. It was in that house that I had acquired the embroidery needle. "We used to live in that house."

"Oh then I guess this," I said, digging the needle out of one of the pockets in my pants. "Belongs to you." I closed her hand around it, smiling. "Your mother taught you embroidery too, didn't she? Consider this your heirloom."

"Thank you!" She gave me another giant hug.

A bell clanged once. "That's the dinner bell." Eren told me. "Do you want to sit with us?"

"Sure." We walked inside, received our meal and sat down at an empty, wooden table. "So how long have you guys known Rivaille?"

They exchanged glances. "Not very long. He's really cold and distant." Apparently, everyone got the same vibe from the corporal. We were joined by a blonde-haired boy with blue eyes. "You're Armin, right?"

"And you're the girl who survived a few years in Titan territory," he replied. "It's very nice to meet you!" He offered a hand, which I shook. "I heard all three of you got into Corporal Rivaille's special squad. Congratulations!"

We chatted like this until dinner was, unfortunately, over. It had ended too quickly for my liking and we were supposed to report to Corporal Grumpy Pant's office. "You have probably all heard you would be joining my squad." There was another young man next to me, probably the last squad member.

I snickered and he directed a frown at me. "Rivaille, how long is this meeting going to take?"

"You will address me as Sir or Corporal. Call me that again, and you'll be running laps. We'll be going on a mission outside the Wall. Be prepared in three days early morning. The punishment for being tardy is cleaning the stables for a day. You're dismissed."

I breathed out in relief as we exited. "I'm Matt." The boy introduced himself. "It's nice to meet all of you."

"Nice to meet you too." Eren replied casually. We split off into two groups when we reached the cabins, the boys and the girls. I noticed Mikasa scowling and having a dark, gloomy aura around her.

"Mikasa, is everything okay?" I asked.

"That shorty deserves a beating for what he did to Eren and his attitude." She muttered. "And I'll be there to watch him suffer."

It occurred to me that Mikasa and Eren were possibly lovers. "Are you and Eren dating?"

She blushed a bright red. "No! We're just…friends." Her voice trailed off at the end and I had to stifle a laugh.

"Okay." We climbed into our respective beds and I heard Mikasa slowly breathe in and out, a sure sign she had fallen asleep.

I, however, kept tossing and turning, finally falling out of bed. "Oww…" I groaned softly. In the darkness, I felt warm liquid seep through the back of my shirt. I limped to the door and started heading to the medic center, where I knew there would be bandages. Halfway there, I saw Rivaille leaning against a wall, stone-faced as ever. "Rivaille?" I started backing away, hoping he wouldn't notice my limp or trail of blood.

"Aer." He immediately took notice of both. "What did you do now?"

"Ah, nothing." I tried to laugh it off, but even I could tell both my laugh and smile were forced. "Just a little falling out of bed incident."

"Turn around." He ordered, and I obediently turned around. Fresh blood had started pooling around my feet. He winced when some of it stained his shoes. I remembered Father telling me something about a man being a clean-freak, even out in the fields. "What happened?"

On my back was a crisscrossing of deep, short wounds. They had started healing about a week ago, but I hadn't thought that falling out of bed would reopen them. I sucked in my breath when he started touching them. My shirt allowed for him to see straight through, since it was already damp with the coppery liquid. "Some sort of ritual from my clan."

I remembered that day, clear as crystal in my mind. My mother and some servants that were sworn to keep this secret had chained me down. They told me it was a ritual to grow up, but when my mother started to dig her dagger into my back, one servant protested. She said it was meant to be a smaller mark, on my shoulder blade. Still, it didn't stop my mother from making multiple scars stretching from my shoulders to my hips.

"You need to bandage it properly." Rivaille said. "It could get infected." He led me to the medic center and commanded me to take off my shirt. After much protesting, he resolved to rip it open, the ripped shirt dangling pathetically. He started applying some sort of cream that _burned. _

"So what are you doing in the middle of the night?" I asked. It explained why his eyes looked so tired from lack of sleep, but there had to be a reason. "You don't seem the kind of person to sneak out in the middle of the night for no reason whatsoever."

"Nothing you should be concerned about."

I pouted. He finished and I wrapped bandages around myself so that my breasts and stomach were all wrapped. I stood outside, looking at the stars. "Do you know any constellations?" He didn't reply so I pointed one out. "That's Pegasus. It's my favorite." It reminded me of the calm, cool nights where I would sneak out of the house and dreamily stare up into the dark sky. Rivaille didn't say anything, only stalked off into the direction of the men's cabins.

I sighed and returned to bed as well.

_"Do you think that he likes me?" My best friend, Emily blushed. She was a huge blusher, almost to the point where she looked like a tomato. "Are you sure? I like him too but he's applying for the Survey Corps soon."_

_ "Of course!" Personally, I wanted to join the Survey Corps as well, but I couldn't leave Emily behind. We were close childhood friends and her frail body wouldn't handle a day of tough training. "He'll survive."_

_ The scene changed from that into one where a Titan was approaching us. "Aer!" She screamed once. "Help me!" I shoved her aside, hearing her yelp and was swallowed whole by the Titan. It was really smelly, and the lack of oxygen made me dizzy._

_ This time, I was dying. I didn't know why, but I was suddenly bleeding all over. My blood trailed down into the liquid and mixed, creating a shiny, orange color._

"Aer! Aer! Wake up! You're going to be late!" Mikasa jerked me awake. "Why are you sweating so much? I didn't think it was that hot last night."

"Nightmare," I mumbled. "It's been going on for days now."

She sympathetically glanced at me. "We have kitchen duty today," was all she said. We headed to the cafeteria, only to be stopped by Rivaille

"Cadet Aer." Rivaille towered above me. "You are to report straight to my office after you finish breakfast. Ackerman, you are to follow your usual chores." He left abruptly, leaving me to stare at his back.

I groaned and leaned my head against my arms. "Coffee?" Armin asked. "You look tired." I took the cup and sipped it, making a face. It was just like bitter water. I liked coffee as long as I got it to taste as little as coffee as possible. I added a lot of milk, making the coffee a light tan, a startling contrast to the black murkiness it was before. "That's like one percent coffee, ninety-nine percent milk." He muttered.

I finished breakfast and came to the office. "Aer, reporting for duty," I said, mockingly saluting him. I probably did it wrong, judging by his steely expression. "What do you want?"

"That's what do you want, _sir _to you." Rivaille shot back. "You start your training today. Go ahead and run fifty laps around the camp. After that, I'll teach you the proper way to use the 3DMG. You also need to find a harness that properly fits you, and find a clean uniform. And Commander Erwin will be expecting you to explain how exactly you survived in Titan territory."

"What does that have to do with training?" I was physically fit, but by no means a serious athlete. Using the 3DMG normally would make you tired, and if I ran fifty laps, by the end of the day, I would most likely collapse.

"Here's a rule you should probably take notice of. Do not ask questions about orders from your superior." Rivaille smirked at me. I glared at him and showed him my middle finger, leaving the room as I did so. I started to run, only to hear him yell, "And I want you sprinting, not jogging!"

I muttered a profanity under my breath as I sped up.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please review~


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Aer's P.O.V.

"Rivaille-huff- I –huff- am so going to-huff- make you-huff- pay for this." I bent down, leaning on the desk for support.

He looked at me with disgust. "You're getting the floor dirty." The sun was slowly sinking down over the horizon. "Get ready to practice the 3D Maneuver Gear." His face was merciless, and slightly sadistic.

"Are you-huff- trying to-huff- kill me?" Sweat rolled down my forehead. My throat constricted every time I tried to breathe in, getting narrower and narrower with each painful breath.

He glanced at me. "You shouldn't be this tired. That just proves how physically unfit you are." I glared at him, ditching the option of speaking. A hint of sympathy flashed in his eyes, but I might've been imagining it. "Go back to your cabin and take a shower. You stink."

I shakily drew myself up and walked outside. No one had actually warned me about the circumference of the damned camp. And if an average person could run that much, I would just _love _to see Rivaille try without getting tired.

My vision started to blur, and I stopped, wiping the sweat on my forehead against my sleeve. It was the last thing I did before I blacked out into the darkness.

Rivaille's P.O.V.

I finished up the paperwork and headed outside. I saw Aer leaning against a cabin wall, her breathing short and shallow. I frowned. The run wasn't that long enough for her to be falling asleep out of exhaustion.

I took a closer look and saw blood dribbling down her chin, from her mouth. I picked her up, wincing when her head leaned against mine, staining my _just-washed_ shirt. "Next morning, your first chore is to re-wash my shirt," I muttered.

Ackerman wouldn't be pleased to see me walk into her cabin so I took Aer to the hospital. The stench of blood and dying people almost made me gag. I never went here during the day. It was too smelly and dirty for my taste. I dropped her on an abandoned cot. Literally. Dropped her.

A nurse came in, and upon seeing me, she smiled. "Corporal Rivaille, feel free to stay here, and watch over her."

"What's her problem?"

She put a hand against Aer's forehead. "Did she exercise or something?"

"Yeah."

The nurse straightened up. "This is my theory, but I think she has very bad asthma. If the rumors are true, and she spent more than half an hour in a Titan's stomach, the oxygen level in there would be very low. Her lungs would be severely damaged. I'm surprised she's even alive at all."

I sighed. I finally found a decent person to tease, and she can't do anything that makes her tired. Great.

Aer's P.O.V.

I woke up and saw Rivaille sleeping in a chair. He almost looked peaceful and harmless. Almost. Even when he was sleeping, there was still that trademark scowl of him. I quietly giggled to myself.

A small blackbird flew in through the open window. He landed on my outstretched pinkie and started chirping furiously, directing most of them to the sleeping corporal. "He is not that mean!"I quietly protested. Over the years, the bird and I had made up a system of communication. It helped that he understood what I was speaking. "Okay, so you think he's a bitter, little man full of hate. You don't even know him!"

"Who's a bitter, little man full of hate?" I heard Rivaille's voice behind me, and I slowly turned around, dreading to see his face. He was still scowling and he looked pissed. Really pissed off.

"Go!" I made a fluttering motion at the bird, and he took the hint, flying away. "Be free of the shorty full of hatred!" I looked back at my 'superior' and saw he was glaring at me. "What?"

"Nothing. Do your chores with Ackerman today. You're off training." He left the room and I was left to deal with the confusion. First of all, what was I doing in the hospital?

"Mikasa!" I ran up to her, in uniform. "I'm supposed to help you finish the tasks today." I noticed she had a dark shadow under her eyes, and everyone was moving slowly with jerky movements, almost robotically.

"One of the squads didn't come back," She said in a monotone. "It was completely wiped out."

I froze. It was only one day. And our squad and many others were going on a mission tomorrow. The negative emotions swirling around death right now would probably ensure panic in people before the mission even started.

Ignoring Mikasa, I marched to Rivaille's office. "Rivaille!"

"What? Didn't I tell you to help Ackerman?"

"Let's have a sleepover!" It was not the phrase he was expecting. His face was scrunched up in confusion. "Oh come on. My ideas aren't that bad that you forget how to close your mouth."

"Why do you want a sleepover?" Rivaille recovered quickly, and I cursed myself for not taking the opportunity to take a picture of the surprised corporal. "We're going on an expedition tomorrow. We'll need everyone in top shape."

I thought about it. "Fine we won't have any alcohol. But I still want my sleepover." I was stubborn, but it was a contest between Rivaille and me to see who would win this glaring contest. "Everyone's depressed over the loss of that last squad. At this rate, people would be scared of Titans even before the damn thing starts. Then the casualty rate will definitely be over thirty percent. Maybe even half of the soldiers will die. You see, if someone is afraid of something, they are _not _going to try their best. They will scream, and eventually die and be eaten."

He sighed. "Do whatever you want."

I smiled. Now for phase two of this operation. "Matt!" I saw my fellow squad member walk past me. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Go to Rivaille's main cabin wearing your sleep clothes; bring your pillow, and anything else." He looked confused at the request. "If he punishes you, I'll take it."

I told the same to Armin, Eren, and Mikasa. They suggested I invite others as well, so I was doing more socializing than actual work. So far, I had managed to get Hanji, Connie, Jean, and Sasha to come. I decided that would be enough. Sasha and Connie even mentioned bringing in food.

Rivaille probably wasn't going to be happy that more than a few people were camping out in his own cabin, but admittedly, his was the largest. Being an 'important person' he got his own cabin even. Of course, he was probably going to berate me for this the next day, but I had caught his words on tape.

I snuck off when the sun set. The sleepover was planned to take place an hour after sunset. The blackbird flew back and I petted its soft head with a finger. "No, I didn't break the rules!" He chirped and I sighed. "Stay safe. I'll be late tomorrow."

I quickly went to the market, busily finding decent pillows. "Miss, would you care for some rare flutes?" A store vendor offered me a long, pretty flute. "Rare, and carved out of the now-expensive elephant ivory! I also have some other instruments, if you're interested!"

I heard Eren and Mikasa knew how to play some stuff, so I bought a selection of instruments, getting one white flute painted with blue flowers around it for myself. It had been a long time since I practiced playing flute, but with some luck, I wouldn't sound like the dying cat, which Onyx and Lilli described my amateur flute playing as once.

Mikasa was waiting for me at our cabin. I changed into sleepwear and grabbed my pillow, as well as a blanket. She took a blanket and pillow too, and we headed off toward Rivaille's cabin. "Mikasa," I whispered. She looked at me. I had a feeling that she was basically coming because of Eren, but I needed some excitement. "When Rivaille comes in, you can have your revenge by smacking him with the pillow." I played the recording of Rivaille saying 'Do whatever you want.'

The group was ready. Hanji was smiling like the devil as we came in through the window. We all chose decent hiding places, and after Hanji mentioned Rivaille was completely a clean freak when it came to furniture, Jean, Connie, and Sasha took the opportunity to mess up his room.

Crouched in a cramped hiding space, was not fun, it appeared. Hanji started talking. Loudly. "Ri-chan has a lot of deskwork!" She crowed. "Ne, Aer, what do you think of Ri-chan?! You guys should so start dating! I mean look at the happy couple!"

I made up my mind about Hanji. That girl was insane. "Matt, how do you like the squad so far?" Armin suddenly asked. Matt looked at the blonde boy.

"Honestly?"

We all nodded eager to hear his response.

"I'm just hoping I survive and get back home to my girlfriend. Oh, and Aer, it would be really nice of you to start dating Rivaille. I'm with Hanji on this one." I groaned and threw my hands up. "What? If he starts dating someone, he won't be that cold anymore!"

"Tough luck," I muttered. Then I raised my voice. "Matt, you have a girlfriend?! How positively adorable," I said, smirking in the darkness. It wasn't like anyone could see me. "Any other couples?!"

"Eren and Mikasa!" Hanji yelled, laughing. "Sorry Jean!"

Even in the murky blackness, I could see Jean's blush. "Why are you mentioning me?!"

I heard some chewing and sighed. Apparently, Armin could hear it too. "Who's eating?"

We all spoke at the same time. "Sasha."

"What? I'm hungry!" She protested.

"Ri-chan's gonna get you for spilling crumbs over his cabin!" Connor laughed. "I bet he has a strict no food policy in here!"

The lights suddenly turned on and we all turned and saw Rivaille standing in the doorway. Now that I could actually see, I saw a trail of crumbs leading up to the bed, where Sasha was sitting, munching on a piece of bread. There was a bag next to her, which I presume, held more food. "What the hell are you damn kids doing in my cabin?" The corporal growled.

Mikasa sprang at him, pillow in hand. With well-practiced moves, she smacked him with the pillow. Rivaille stood still, then grabbed for his own pillow on his bed, throwing it at Mikasa.

She ducked, and the pillow collided into Eren, who threw it back, hitting Jean. Jean, who held a grudge against Eren for stealing away Mikasa's attention, grabbed his own pillow and tried to hit Eren, only to hit…me.

It sprang into a full on pillow war, with Hanji laughing crazily in between fights. Pillows went flying, and I thought I even saw Connie do a weird ninja pose. Everyone was smiling, including Rivaille, which was very surprisingly. Extremely surprising. Even the bird thought the day Mr. Grumpy Pants smiled was the day pigs started flying and killing Titans by themselves.

Then all hell exploded when Rivaille noticed the trail of crumbs that Sasha made. I could almost see fire in his eyes. "Who the fuck made that fricken shitty-ass trail of crumbs!?" Sasha immediately dove under the bed, making a squeak. We all found good defensive places as well as Rivaille started going on his clean-freak mode and pelted anyone in sight with pillows.

It made me wonder where he got all of those pillows. "Aer!" Hanji screamed. "Calm down your boyfriend!"

"I. Am. Not. His. Girlfriend." I yelled back through gritted teeth. I joined Rivaille in the pillow-pelting. Oddly enough, the pillow stash never ran out, making it a very fun night. Eventually, we all grew tired and just lay on the floor, staring up at the ceiling.

"Aer." Mikasa spoke for the first time that night. "Can you play the flute for us?"

"You know how to play the flute?" This time it was Rivaille who spoke.

I blushed. "Yes. Can you guys help me? I brought some instruments so we can all play." In the end, Connie was on percussion, Sasha was on triangle, Eren was on pipe, Hanji was, strangely, on violin. Rivaille refused to play, Mikasa took the second flute. It seemed we all had musical instruction, though Hanji's violin was a bit scratchy. Okay, more than a bit. She was holding the bow like it was a sword, and grating it against the violin strings.

"Hanji, you suck at this," Rivaille spoke bluntly. "Have you ever even played before?" He grabbed the violin and bow from the squad leader and played a perfect note. "There. Your sound was killing my ears."

"Let's start." Hanji just clapped along, and we practiced our horrible music skills. It was all well, until Commander Erwin opened the door to Rivaille's cabin.

"Rivaille, I don't know what you're doing to make such noise, but you better…" He trailed off when he saw all of us, sitting cross-legged in a circle, with instruments. "I'm sorry for interrupting." Was all he said as he shut the door.

"Aer…" I heard Rivaille growl. "First of all why are you guys in my room? Second, whomever made that dirty trail of crumbs better clean it all up, or someone's going to be headless tomorrow! Third, Aer, when I said you can have the sleepover, I didn't mean in my damn fucking cabin!"

I sighed, reached behind me, and played the recording. "It's obviously your voice saying 'Do whatever you want.'"

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please review~


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Aer's P.O.V.

I stretched out my arms, ignoring the thing hugging me. Wait…hugging me? I opened my eyes and saw Rivaille sleeping next to me, his face close to mine. "Pervert!" I screamed and kicked him in the chest.

Hanji woke up immediately and seeing our position, giggled madly, "Ri-chan, you're getting hot and heavy in the morning!" She cackled again, waking up the others as well. I saw that Mikasa was sleeping very close to Eren, making me smile. At least she had fun.

"We're late!" Jean yelled and scrambled to gather his stuff before throwing open the door and running out. "The mission's starting in thirty minutes."

That phrase was more effective at waking up everyone than Hanji's laughter. In five minutes, everyone but I and Rivaille had left. "I'll just go…" I quickly took off, not wanting to receive a punishment for kicking him.

Turns out, it took shorter time than expected to get ready. Everyone was at the cafeteria, eating breakfast, but I decided to skip it. "You're Cadet Aer, right?" A stable boy glanced at me as he brushed a black horse's coat. "We were expecting you to pick your horse soon." The black horse's eyes rolled and I noticed he was tied down.

"What about that one?" I was curious about that horse. He was dirty, yes, but at the same time, he intrigued me.

"You don't want this one, ma'am." The boy said politely. "He's a wild horse. We recently found him outside the Wall in Titan territory. I'm afraid that he's too skittish for missions like the one today."

So he came from Titan territory. I smiled gently, and reached out a hand to the horse, despite the boy's warnings. "Don't worry about that. I'll take him. If there is any punishment for you that is to be doled out upon giving me a wild horse, I'll take responsibility." The boy nodded and took off.

I came into the stall with the stallion. "It's okay," I whispered, "You'll be okay." The horse was still pawing the ground nervously. "How about I name you Onyx?" I asked. For some odd reason I couldn't understand, he reminded me of my older brother. Plus, they both had the same aura around them. "Ugh, you smell," I grimaced. Rivaille was not going to be happy if I arrived with a dirty horse. Especially with his clean-freak personality. He nearly killed Sasha with a seemingly harmless pillow last night for making the crumb trail.

Five minutes later, Onyx was clean. I had dragged him out to the hose area and washed him down. He looked like he enjoyed it. "Aer, what are you doing?" Mikasa and Eren walked up to me. "I saved you some breakfast. You'll need some energy for the expedition," Eren reminded me.

I sighed. "Thanks." I accepted the wrapped bundle of food in the napkin. "Don't they usually punish you for stealing food?" I was pretty sure you got sentenced to running laps or something like that.

Mikasa smiled. "Sasha stole some food and she gave half to us for you."

Ah. That explained it. The girl was a certified food thief. A bell rang once, twice. "Well, the mission's starting I guess. See you later." I took off to get Onyx while they waved. This mission was to discover the breach in Wall Rose. Titans had started to appear there, and in order for Eren to seal it in his Titan form; we had to know exactly where to seal it. Then there was the really mysterious point of the mission. People had started to discover a seventeen-meter Titan with a hairy body and long arms that resembled the build of an ape-like creature. I gripped the reins, my knuckles turning white. Some soldiers had said it had the ability to throw giant rocks, climb walls, and worse of all, and summon other Titans. I had a feeling this particular Titan was the one who killed my father.

"Mission start!" Commander Erwin yelled and the gate was opened. We started to run out when I saw a Titan. It was leisurely walking toward our direction. The support team immediately flew out, killing it.

We ran continuously, not stopping. I could tell some of the other squads had started to get tired. We hadn't seen signs of any breach, but I could make out a large figure in the background. "That's the Ape Titan!" Matt yelled.

Rivaille didn't reply. He simply scowled. I looked around. More and more Titans were closing in on us, and we were headed straight toward the Ape Titan. At this pace and rate, we would have to encounter it in battle. Armin had explained to me before that using the 3DMG on flat land was extremely difficult, and that I was most likely the only one proficient in the skill.

Erwin reached up and fired a smoke signal. It was a blue one, telling everyone else to head to the Forest of Giant Trees. I heard other shots around me. They knew. We veered to the right, going directly to the Forest. The Ape Titan started running. I glanced at Rivaille.

I had heard rumors about when the last Special Operations Squad had captured the Female Titan, a human known as Annie. All but one died. If they were planning on capturing the Ape Titan with the exact same strategy, I could bet that it would be a little expected. The conditions of this mission were different than the ones with the Female Titan. Continuing with the plan now was suicide to the other squad members.

Mirth flew off Onyx's mane. I saw Eren and Mikasa with nervous faces. The original plan was to kill the Ape Titan and find the breach. We were avoiding it. The breach wouldn't be visible from here either.

The Ape Titan was closing in. I heard several screams, all of them close by enough that I could hear the whizz of 3DMG. Sweat dripped down my forehead and stained the cloak. "Corporal, we should use our gear!" Eren yelled above the noise of thundering hooves.

He didn't reply. The Ape Titan was running faster and I turned around. Monstrous eyes stared back at me. I faced forward, my teeth clenched together. There was bloodlust in his face, and for the first time in my life, I felt fear of dying.

I started to get off-track so I tried to concentrate. Don't turn around. Don't turn around. Think of something else other than the giant beast chasing you through the big ass forest. I slipped into a flashback, the noise of the horses buzzing in my ears.

_"Mother, do you think we could join the army?" Lilli clambered over my mom's lap. She was four. "We could join Daddy and kill Titans!"_

_ My older brother, Onyx, scoffed. "Lilli, wait until you grow older. Dad won't like it if a four-year-old enlisted in the military." Hypocrite. I knew he secretly had aspiring dreams to become one of the well-known Survey Corps._

_ "Children, settle down." Our caretaker, Isla, shushed us. "Layla is ill." Layla was my mother. She had contracted a disease that was quite expensive to cure. If we could hold out for a few more weeks, Father would be able to send us enough money to buy the cure. If._

_ "Let's go outside," I suggested. "Mom, we'll be outside, okay?" She inclined her head toward me, eyes blank, but it was a sign that I knew she had heard. "Lilli, come here, you little monkey."_

_ "Aer!"_

A gunshot jerked me out of the memory. Erwin had fired another smoke bullet, this time a black one. I forgot what that meant but I decided to just follow Rivaille. Bright light signaled the end of the Forest. If we wanted to go to battle, right now would be the prime time to.

"Use the gear and spiral into the trees now!" Rivaille yelled. We followed orders, and stood upon the thick branches. The Ape Titan had slowed to a walk, the other Titans following him.

"How troublesome." I could have sworn I saw it talk. "Won't you come down and tell me about this gear you have created?" His eyes found mine, and I shuddered. "Ah you." He pointed at me. "You're the man's adopted daughter. I smell his scent on you. Though he wasn't your true father. I'll let you know he was pathetically begging for his life to the end."

"Aer!" I heard Eren yell at me. "What is he talking about?"

_Zakarius died on a mission. He sacrificed himself to allow for his squad to escape. His body was never found nor did anyone see his death. It is presumed he most likely died._

I let out a scream before I launched myself at the Ape Titan. The other Titans jumped at me, and I cut at their necks mercilessly. He killed Father. I needed revenge. "Aer! Control yourself!" I heard Rivaille yell at me. He whipped down and caught me before I was within reach of the Ape Titan. "Are you crazy?!" He screamed. I was about to retort back when I saw some fear in his eyes.

The Ape Titan kicked a tree, making it fall. He snatched a soldier who had been standing on one of the branches, and crushed it, making the blood splatter everywhere. He cast a look at me. "Deserter." Then he looked at Eren. "Traitor."

Eren was on the verge of shifting into a Titan. Rage poured through my veins as several other squads flew down and got either killed or crushed. This was a suicide battle. One humanity would suffer a huge blow for if they continued.

"Call them back!" I screamed at Erwin. "We'll all die!" I don't think he heard me, or maybe he was just ignoring me. He had focused his attention up ahead. The horses were all gathered there, as if called by an unspoken command.

"We can't do anything without orders!" Matt yelled. His tree was getting knocked down, and he hooked himself to the tree next to us. "Corporal, your orders! We need your help in this situation!"

I tore myself out of Rivaille's grasp and jumped down, headed toward the Ape Titan. I formed one separate thought from my mind, one that would determine my actions. _Let me kill them._ I slipped into another flashback.

_"How are you today?" Dr. Jaegar visited us. We finally had enough money to hire him to cure Layla. When he came in, he had looked at me with a strange expression. Lilli and Onyx hadn't noticed though, so I had assumed it was nothing._

_ "Doctor…" Layla whispered weakly. "Protect my children. Please. Before I pass away." He clucked his tongue, and looked at us._

_ "Did she hallucinate lately?"_

_ She had, in fact. Onyx told us Mother had suddenly started screaming about a breach in Wall Sina, that humanity didn't have a chance that we were all going to die. It frightened Isla to no end so we had given her the day off due to Dr. Jaegar being here. Plus Onyx was 'supposedly' responsible enough._

_ Ha. He was a guy who thought it was safe for us to sleep outside, unattended. Of course, it didn't make Isla relax by any means. "Aer," Lillia whispered, "Is Mommy going to go to Heaven?"_

_ Dr. Jaegar straightened up. "Of course she isn't, youngling. Your mother will be all right. Leave it up to me." Turning to Onyx and I, he asked, "Do me a favor, and buy some bread and food from the market?" He dropped a pouch of gold coins into Onyx's outstretched hand._

_ We left, leaving Lillia with Layla and Dr. Jaegar. "Should we get meat?" Onyx pondered and I slapped his shoulder._

_ "Meat's expensive. It would cost all of the money he gave us." I retorted._

_ "He said to buy food. He didn't specify what kind of food." Onyx sighed._

_ "Give me that," I snatched the pouch from him and walked up to a fruit and vegetable store, buying vegetables, bread, and some fruit for Mother. Fruit was also a bit rare, though it was a thousand times cheaper than meat. By any means, it should provide her enough comfort to heal up._

_ We walked back to the house, Onyx sulking the whole way. I swear, he acted more like a kid than Lilli. Older role-model brother indeed. When Dr. Jaegar saw us coming up the road, he motioned for Lilli and Onyx to start preparing dinner._

_ "Aer, I would like to speak to you alone." He looked serious so I followed him outside. It was there he took out a large syringe filled with amber-colored liquid. I flailed away from him, trying to escape his iron grasp. "Calm down. You'll forget about this in a few minutes." He plunged the syringe into one of my arms; the liquid entering my bloodstream and making my head grow woozy. "You are one of the few that will survive. One of the few that will aid humanity in the body of the enemy."_

_ Excruciating, ripping pain exploded in my head. The place where the needle had punctured was throbbing and the burning sensation traveled up to my brain. The doctor looked at me sympathetically then left me, kneeling in the alley._

_ I screamed, tears flowing out of my eyes. Onyx rushed out and upon seeing my crouched position, tried to get me to stand up, to get me to the doctor, the very same doctor who had done this to me._

_ When I calmed down, he asked me, "What's wrong?"_

_ I said, "I don't remember."_

I roared once as I dropped onto the ground, my body steaming.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please review~


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Aer's P.O.V.

I swung a fist toward the Ape Titan. Another Titan jumped forward, receiving the blow and defending the Ape Titan. I glared at the fifteen-meter class that had taken the hit. I was fourteen-meters with a build not unlike the Female Titan's. But I had violet eyes and longer black hair. It reached my waist, but the one thing that annoyed me was I had no skin. To harden it would take concentration. My physical defense just flew out the window.

When I focused on the Ape Titan, I saw that it had left, leaving me and the horde of Titans. They descended on me, jaws open. I felt teeth crush into the muscle of my arms and legs. They were eating me. Disgusting creatures.

One Titan jumped. A Deviant. I kicked it, still feeling pain from the other Titans currently chewing on my body. My Titan form started to burn, and steam. The Titans who had aimed to eat me started walking away, as it felt hotter.

I saw Rivaille and Mikasa swing down towards me, blades out. That was the last thing I saw before everything became black.

_"Aerellia, you don't have to bite your hand, you know." A boy walked toward me, laughing. "Just make a small blood offering."_

_ "It's not my fault, William," I pouted. Why was he calling me Aerellia? "What do you do then to shift into a Titan?"_

_ "Bite my cheek," he replied. We were outside the Walls, in Titan territory. How we got there, I couldn't remember, as this was before the Shiganshina district breach. "You know, when Dr. Jaeger asked me to teach you, I couldn't help but think you would be more experienced."_

_ "He's going to erase my memory after this, right?" I asked. I was a little bummed out about that, but William and Dr. Jaeger assured me that one day, my memories would be recovered and I would be able to recall how to shift again._

_ This was before my mother fell ill, I supposed. That vial was one of the many drugs that would cancel the Titan shifting for a time being, the side effects causing me to have amnesia. "Eren won't be happy when he finds out."_

_ "I didn't teach your younger brother, Aerellia," William shrugged. "Jaeger says he isn't aware of his powers even now. For your first time shifting, you have to have a hard emotional drive to do something."_

_ "Dad said that?" Why was I calling Dr. Jaeger my father? "I still think we should at least tell one of his friends. Armin and Mikasa. They would be able to help him, and friends do wonders with emotions."_

_ "You know, he's going to put you up for adoption after he wipes your memory of these lessons." That phrase made me freeze. "But the drug doesn't work permanently. He'll have to distribute it throughout your bloodstream twice for it to properly activate."_

_ "So he's giving me away to one of his close friends?"_

_ "Doubt that. You're Aerellia Jaeger. Of course, you will probably survive throughout this hell we're in because of people like me." He pointed at himself. "The Titan-shifters. Eren, everyone who knew you will also have their memories wiped. It was the deal Jaeger made in order for you to teach Eren. Oh, and today, I can't teach you this evening. We're invading another Survey Corps team."_

_ Later that day, I met up with Corporal Rivaille. William's words had haunted me, and I spent time thinking about it as I embroidered a small, linen scarf. "Aerellia?" He turned around as I approached him. "I thought we weren't meeting up today."His eyes softened at my troubled expression. "What's wrong?"_

_ I choked back a sob. Rivaille didn't know I was a Titan-shifter. And we were secretly dating. I remembered him saying that he hated Titans. It was a hatred he would never forget. "Here," I pressed the scarf in his palm. "Keep this with you okay?"_

_ I had seen the people who had their memories wiped. They would forget everything. Rivaille knew me very well. I had embroidered the initials A.J. in the corner of the scarf. "What's wrong?" He hugged me, hands around my back. "I'll come back, so if you're worried about me on the expedition, don't be."_

_ "Can we take a walk?" I was desperate to get out. When Rivaille and I were sitting on the curb, watching the stars, I spoke again. "Ne, Rivaille, what do you think the Titans are doing?"_

_ "Who knows?"_

_ "I think…this is our punishment. Humanity's, I mean. These 'walls' are our pen. Titans are herding us into the pen. They eat us for pleasure, though they have no need to eat." I saw Rivaille cast me a sidelong look. "We herd pigs, cows, and sheep. We scare them into pens, so they have no choice but to fear us. We don't need to eat them, but we do anyway, for the purpose of pleasure. We can eat other things, vegetables, and fruits, but we choose to eat animals."_

_ "That's an interesting theory," I heard the corporal say slowly. "I'll ask Hanji about that."_

_ "Hanji?"_

_ "She's one of the scientists charged with finding out the origins of Titans."Rivaille stood up and I realized it was time for him to embark on the expedition. "I have to go now." He hugged me again, and pressed his lips against mine. A lone tear snaked out from my closed eyelids. He tucked the scarf under his uniform. "How's Eren?"_

_ "He's fine." I knew Rivaille didn't really like Eren, always referring to him as 'brat.' Eren, on the other hand, admired Rivaille and always tried to convince me to introduce him to the corporal. "Come back." I whispered. He nodded and left._

_ Under that willow tree, I had never felt more alone than I had now. Today was my last day of training. Tomorrow would be the start of my new life. My new life with no memories, no emotion, and no family. Dad greeted me as soon as I came home. He handed me a vial full of amber liquid. I nodded._

_ That night, I washed out the brown hair dye I had been wearing. My hair was black as the night again. I put in blue color contacts as well, covering my violet eyes. I examined the vial. Did Dad know about me and Rivaille? Would he wipe Rivaille's memory as well? I shut my eyes as I plunged the needle into my forearm._

I opened my eyes. "Aer Zakarius." I was chained down. They even went to the point of strapping down my neck and midsection and also gagging me. I think it was Commander Erwin's voice speaking. "We have some questions to ask you." Fire away, voice that belongs to someone I cannot see due to the fact that I am facing the ceiling. "Were you aware of your Titan powers?" I didn't answer. "Are you like the Colossal, Armored, or Female Titan?" No, I wasn't in fact. Eren wasn't either. Did they realize they were talking to someone who was gagged? "What is your real name?" I bolted myself up, ripping through the bonds tying me down. How did they know about that?

A gunshot rang out, and I felt pain flower in my shoulder. "Bastard, you weren't supposed to fire!" I heard Rivaille growl and suddenly, I was growing faint again. Using my right hand, I pulled out the bullet, hearing my muscle make a gruesome tearing sound. I threw the projectile on the stone floor, gasping heavily.

"My…real…name…is…" I panted between each word. "Aerellia."

"What is your last name? There are no records that Zakarius adopted a daughter." Erwin was leaning his upper body forward on the wooden table as he studied my tired face.

I judged Eren's face. It held no recognition of me. His memory was wiped too, it seemed. Then I looked at Rivaille. He was the same. "Before I tell you that," I leaned against the now-bloody cot. "I want to see Rivaille's scarf." A.J. Who knew that those two initials would determine my answer?

"Rivaille?" The commander looked at the lance corporal expectantly.

He scowled. "I promised someone I wouldn't lose it. And I don't want to disappoint her." I softened at his words. I took out my blue color contacts, my violet eyes studying the group. Hanji was there, but someone must have ordered her not to speak, as she was quiet.

Easing into the bed so I faced the ceiling once again, I spoke. "Jaeger. I'm Aerellia Jaeger, Eren's older sister, and one of the few humans who became Titan-shifters not through birth, but through science."

I heard some gasps as I slipped into the darkness of oblivion again. The next minute, someone was lifting me off of the blood bed, my head lolling. I couldn't tell who it was. I needed to sleep. It sounded so good right now. Sleep and the pain will go away.

_"Aerellia," Dad approached me. He held an empty needle. "I wiped Rivaille's memory of you." His face was sad. "But something went wrong. He will remember bits and pieces of you. And he is lacking a bit of his emotions."_

_ "Jaeger!" I growled. Then something hard smacked into my head and I fell unconscious. _

_ Before I was completely out, I heard someone say, "When are we contacting Canada? The Germany walls have been breached, and they are not aware of the danger of the Colossal Titans coming back."_

I woke up again, but the room around me was vastly different to the prison cell. First, of all it was _clean. _Second of all, this was a hospital room. I realized someone had bandaged my shoulder. I saw Rivaille leaning against the wall, watching me. "Aerellia Jaeger, huh?"

Did he remember? If he did, this was really…awkward. "What about it?" I asked cautiously. "Do you know of my name?"

"Sounds familiar." Rivaille said. "Oi, brat." Eren entered the room. I averted my gaze. "Do you remember her? Your older sister?" Eren didn't say anything. "So Aer, what do you have in defense of yourself so you won't get killed off by the Garrison like Eren almost did?"

"I can teach him," I replied levelly, "You're a beginner, aren't you? I can tell you never received instruction from William or any other Titan-shifter. Dad didn't tell you about your powers either."

"That is an excellent idea, Aerellia." Erwin entered the room. "I have spoken to Dallis Zacklay about this particular problem. You will teach Cadet Eren Jaeger everything you know about Titan-shifting, then either you will stay with the Survey Corps or will be handed over to the Military Police or Garrison for the purpose of experimenting."

I shuddered. "Fine by me, I guess."

An hour later, I was released and was walking around on the Military grounds. "I heard she was a Titan shifter." Many whispers around me were by all means, definitely louder than whispers. "No way! She didn't tell anyone about it?" I walked on, trying to ignore them. "She even let two whole squads die before she transformed."

"Aer!" I jerked back, my eyes wide. Armin, Mikasa, and Matt were standing behind me. Mikasa's hand was reached out, probably to tap me on the shoulder. Noticing my expression, she hugged me. "Why don't we all take a break?"

"We were speaking to Corporal Rivaille." Matt said, looking at me sympathetically. "He and the rest of us are going to the market. You know, get away from the Military for a while? We'll be wearing casual clothes too." Even Rivaille knew that the rumors would get to me. I couldn't even look at him. He was the corporal, for Heaven's sake. Though I had loved him in the past, he didn't remember.

Amnesia was going to kill me one day. "Sure," I smiled weakly. "I'll come." Mikasa dragged me to our cabin, and I changed into a blue halter shirt, a black jacket, and a pair of skinny jeans.

The squad, plus Armin, and I walked to a local tavern. I knew it was the time for me to relax, but I couldn't unknot the tension in my shoulders as strangers passed us. My senses were heightened, due to my lessons with William, and everything was louder, and weirder than ever.

We finally arrived at a quiet area with grass and an old willow tree. It looked familiar, but I couldn't exactly put my finger on it. As we all stretched out onto the soft grass, I realized the stars were out.

"My favorite is Orion's Belt," Armin murmured. I looked at him surprised.

"You know constellations? And why would it be Orion's Belt?"

"Yeah, my grandfather told me all about them. And maybe because Orion's Belt always seemed the brightest."

"I like Pegasus," I whispered. Rivaille glanced at me. "He has wings. He can fly anywhere he wants. It always seemed like the better choice. To fly."

A soldier on a horse, ran up to us, the horse's sides sweaty. He must have spent some time looking for us. "Lance Corporal Rivaille!" His voice was urgent. "Commander Erwin has ordered me to deliver a message to you and Aerellia Jaeger."

He was already calling me Aerellia Jaeger? That guy adapted to names quickly. "I'm off duty." Rivaille narrowed his eyes at him. "Unless it's an emergency."

"A boy and a girl," the soldier panted, "Said they absolutely needed to see Aerellia Jaeger. One of them is in their twenties, and the other is a teenager!"

A boy and a girl? "What are their names?" I felt everyone look at me.

"Onyx and Lilli Zakarius. They say they are your siblings."

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please review~


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Aer's P.O.V.

Without waiting for the others to catch up, I shot forward, toward the Survey Corps region. Onyx and Lilli. They survived? As I was nearing the compound, I saw two tall figures, one with long hair, and the other with short, cropped hair.

"Aer!" Lilli literally jumped into my arms, almost knocking me back onto the dry dirt. "You're alive!" She was screaming so loudly, making me grin and hug her back. "I thought you died with Mommy!"

"Obviously, she didn't," Onyx said. He was acting all tough again. "Glad your back, sis." He gave me a rough pat between my shoulder blades. "We heard you're in the Special Operations Squad. Congratulations."

Why did everyone think it was something to congratulate me about? Basically, it meant I was probably going to be relied upon. I saw Erwin exit the main cabin. He saw me and shook his head. He didn't tell them I was a Titan-shifter? If they stayed for five seconds in the compound, they would definitely find out. "Where are you guys staying?"

"We escaped to the refugee boats after you got eaten," Onyx said. "And both of us just finished the military training." God, no. Anything but this. I smiled at Lilli who was still clinging on to me, and gently pried her off.

"Did you decide what part of the military you're going to?" I fought to keep my voice level. Please don't say Survey Corps, please don't say Survey Corps, please don't say Survey Corps. I cannot bear to see them dead. "Did you score in the top ten?"

"I did!" Lilli winked cheekily. "Onyx did too!" Were they going to the Military Police? The thought of them being around those drunkards didn't exactly comfort me, but it was safer than the Survey Corps. "We're both going to the Survey Corps!"

Life just hated me, didn't it? "Are you sure?" Time to revert to Plan B. "Have you been in combat with the Titans before?" I fiddled with her long blonde hair, not looking at either of them.

"Commander Erwin just accepted us into Hanji's squad," Onyx clarified. "We want to watch you during combat. You seem to be the best person in the group with 3D Maneuver Gear." He was wearing the traveling cloak already while Lilli held her cloak in her arms.

"Actually, _I _am the best person with 3DMG." Rivaille walked up to us, scowling. "Aerellia, you need to fill out some forms that designate you as Eren's teacher. For his shifting." He glared at Onyx.

"Shifting?" Onyx butted in. "And Aer's name is Aer. Just Aer. Not Aerellia." He glared back at Onyx. "What are you, her boyfriend?"

I choked on the water I was drinking, spraying it out. Onto the dark corporal. "No." Rivaille took off his jacket with obvious disgust, and threw it at me. "Wash this." I shook his head at him. I don't want them to know I'm a Titan-shifter, and I'll never want them to know I'm a Titan-shifter. "I expect it to be sparkling clean by the time you give it back to me."

I stuck out my tongue at him. Onyx tugged on Lilli's arm. "Well, Aer, it was nice seeing you again. We need to find our cabins and gear, so see you at the cafeteria later?" I nodded halfheartedly as they left.

"Come on," Rivaille roughly dragged me across to a deserted field. Tall fences were put up and it was boarded all the way around, obscuring whatever would happen inside. "This is the place where you will train the brat." I nearly giggled when he called Eren 'brat.' I had somehow thought that particular habit would die off.

"Okay." Eren was already waiting for me as Rivaille and I came in. Armin and the rest of the squad were there too. Of course, Hanji immediately ran up to me, laughing madly. On the way there, I plucked a sprig of rosemary. "Eren." I spoke, and for the first time ever since he learned I was his family, he looked at me. "Can you smell this?"

"No."

"Concentrate." I tapped my foot impatiently. He didn't even have the Titan senses in yet. "Think about it. Order yourself to smell it, and to see it." From that distance, he probably couldn't make out every little detail. "Tell me how many leaves there are on this piece." He squinted. "Don't squint! Concentrate. Sheesh."

He didn't get it. "Concentrate on what?!"

I sighed. "Let's teach you the basics. You know how to transform into a Titan, right?" He nodded. "What do you do to transform? Bite your hand?" When he nodded again, I managed a small smile. "You already got half of your Titan senses. Sharp canine teeth. It's one of the minor differences between us and humans, but it still counts. If you can bite through your hand, you already got one of your senses."

He didn't look at me. Was the sibling thing this awkward? I didn't remember being this silent with my younger brother. I completely blame Dr. Jaeger for this. "Do you want me to shift?" Eren made a motion to bite his hand. "I can't shift unless I have a clear goal."

"No," I shook my head, "You don't have to have a goal."

"Then how do you shift?"

"I bite my cheek so I make a small blood offering. Afterwards, channel your emotions into power. I find that vengeance is the easiest emotion to convert." I reached up, and sank my teeth into my hand, around the area near the thumb. Vengeance. Blood dripped down my hand as I closed my eyes.

Seconds later, I was a Titan. And not just any Titan. I had a body that mimicked the Armored Titan's. _It's better for crushing your enemies and defending yourself. _Hanji laughed, looking like a girl on her birthday. I ripped myself out of the neck area and jumped down.

"By controlling your skill, you can decide what Titan to turn into. Of course, the emotion you used to shift will also affect it, but you can mainly decide which one. For defense, you will automatically turn into a Colossal Titan. For protection and decent fighting skills, it would be the Armored Titan. And lastly, your original Titan form is the most powerful but vulnerable." Eren didn't say anything, and I had a feeling personal issues were in the way. "Eren, could I speak to you alone?"

We walked far away from the others. "Okay. Vent out all your anger on me," I sat down on the grass. "I have a feeling that if this doesn't get cleared up, your training will be affected." I patted the space next to me, a sign for him to sit down.

"Why did you agree to having your memory gone?" Eren asked angrily. He was yelling. "Was life with my family that bad?! They were your family too! If you hadn't…if you hadn't forgotten about your power, you could have saved Mom!"

I felt a needle stab my heart as he said that. "If I did that, what did you would happen? You wouldn't be here, you wouldn't get to receive training either or probably wouldn't even know about your powers. Then Mother would be sent to recapture the territory lost. You remember that expedition. Everyone died. I would die too."

"That still doesn't explain why you left us!" Eren screamed. He was really furious at me. "You could have told me beforehand! I could have saved Mother!"

"Then what?" I regarded him with a stern eye. "Then you would lose control and the Titan would take over you. This was the best choice Dr. Jaeger and I could come up with." He shook his head angrily.

"That doesn't explain why you decided to wipe my memory! Do you know how many days I spent feeling that I forgot something important and close to me?! Do you even understand the pain you caused Mother since she felt like she had lost something precious?!" He walked up to me and raised his hand. What he did next, I didn't expect. He slapped me, a red mark forming on my right cheek. It stung. "And then you just paraded off into your new family, the people who replaced us! Did you think that it would really be that easy?! Teach me then humanity will be saved?!"

"Life is short," I muttered, "One can only do so many things in their lifespan. And no one wants to die too fast." I stood up, tears forming in my eyes. I put my hands on Eren's shoulders, my tears streaming freely now. "Yes, I did. I wiped the memories of the people who knew me without a second thought. I wiped the memory of my lover, and he barely recognizes me now. I took my own memory without remorse. Amnesia is like a drug, Eren. Once you realize it, you can take it over and over again. You can forget about your life problems. Forget about tragedy. Forget about suffering."

He was on the verge of crying now too, though I could still see anger and frustration in his eyes. "Why did you even agree to this?! If you really had someone you loved, you wouldn't have done it! You would have left our memories intact!"

"Once you start," I said, "you can't stop. Because one wouldn't even remember they started. The strong are not without wounds and scars. The weak are unmarred, as they don't have the courage to stay and bear through the suffering. The stronger one becomes the more scars they have. But take notice that if you bear everything, one day, you'll collapse."

I went to my bag that I had brought, and I took out a thick book that I had spent the night writing. It would help Eren with his training. For now, he would have to continue with himself, slowly. If I helped, it would take longer. "I'll tell you something I have never told anyone before. But you must promise me that this stays between us. One word about this, and I'll personally hand you over to the enemy Titan-shifter." I was his older sister yes. But I wasn't willing to cancel out my plans for the future because he told someone else about it.

"Promise." Eren wiped away at his eyes. "And could you tell me what a Coordinate is?"

I sighed. "A Coordinate. There are two types of Titans. There are the ones that were either turned by another Titan or born a shifter. Then there are ones like us. The ones made through the evolution of science from humanity. Shifters like us are extremely rare. We probably are the last ones left. We are what they call a 'Coordinate.' Unlike the others, we have multiple Titan forms, whilst they only have one."

Eren nodded, and I took it as a good sign he wasn't as angry as before. He was probably still hung up on the idea I let Mother get eaten.

"Here is the book where I've recorded everything that I was supposed to teach you." I thumped the volume onto his hands, as he staggered from the weight. "Read it in order. Don't skip pages. And make sure to always concentrate." With this, my role in life was over. I don't have to fight to stay alive anymore.

I walked away from him. "Aerellia!" Another messenger ran up to me. "Commander Erwin has ordered you to come to his office. Soon. It appears there is an emergency on the expedition outside of the walls."

"Aerellia." Commander Erwin was leaning back in his chair, stoic eyes looking at me. "Cadets Onyx and Lilli Zakarius were recently dispatched to help the expedition. It's outside the walls. I'm afraid to notify you that they and their squads might die."

"Erwin!" I slammed my hands on his desk. "Fuck the formalities. You weren't supposed to dispatch them without my permission!" I glared at him. Here was a man who wasn't afraid to sacrifice soldiers if it would help humanity. And right now, I hated him more than anything.

"There were an abnormal amount of Titans." He replied calmly. "We weren't expecting such a huge number. The Ape Titan is most likely involved in this as well. He's intelligent. We don't know how to plan any more missions if this one doesn't work just because he interfered."

I strode out of the office, angry. Using the gear, I swung myself up the wall, using too much gas at a time. Whatever. The gear would be destroyed once I shifted anyway. I found the squad not too far from the Walls. They must have attempted retreat.

"Aer?" Onyx hooked himself next to me. At the least, I was relieved. He was alive. Unharmed. But not for long. The squads were easily being killed off. "I didn't think that you would come outside the Walls for a long time. You know, Corporal Rivaille told us not to bother you for a while."

"Where's Lilli?" I shot back, frantically looking for the teenager. She was so young. Erwin must have been insane to let her go like this! "Where you in her squad?"

"No," he said, confused. "Her squad was sent ahead of ours."

I took off, heading north. Up ahead, all I could see and smell were dead bodies and the coppery stench of blood. How long had this little 'expedition' prolonged? The soldiers were exhausted, the leaders were killed, and the squads were in a mess.

What I saw next made me almost shift into a Titan out of pure rage. Lilli was in the hands of the Ape Titan. He saw me and reached to snap off her head.

It was almost like in slow motion. She turned toward me, crying. The fingers of the Ape Titan slowly encased around the sides of her head. She turned to me again, my little girl, the girl I saw grow up, the girl who always walked around like she was proud, like she could be proud. And I saw her mouth a word.

_Aer!_

I screamed just as the Ape Titan killed her. He threw her head towards my direction. The blood flowed, like a red ribbon streaming behind. I clutched at my head in pain as mental images overcame me.

_I won't stop until I kill every single one of them._

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please review~


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Aer's P.O.V.

_"Aer! I'm scared." Lilli whimpered again when the lightning struck, making her cower against me. Our parents were busy visiting friends in the inner wall, so Onyx and I were charged with the task of keeping Lilli safe._

_ "Don't worry," I stroked her hair, "It won't hurt us."_

_ Onyx scoffed. "As if we'd let anything happen to you, Lilli. You're our precious sister." She was. Lilli was the only thing that kept both of us sane. Layla Zakarius expected too much out of both me and Onyx. I was supposed to be a medical doctor greater than Dr. Jaeger. Onyx was going to be one of the best warriors in the Survey Corps. She was the one thing that tied us down and connected us._

_ I won't stop until I kill every single one of them._

_ I won't stop until I kill every single one of them._

_ I WON'T STOP UNTIL I KILL EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!_

My baby. My sweet Lilli, the one who cried when I was supposed to be crying when we heard that my pet, a small parakeet, died. I didn't look back as I shifted into my Titan form, roaring as I met the ground. I aimed to tackle the Ape Titan, the Titan who had taken so much away from me.

Many other Titans were defending him once again. I growled a bitter and low sound. _Move aside. _They were still there. So the Ape Titan had more hold over the other Titans than I did? The situation looked grim for me, to be honest, but I wasn't backing down.

I looked off into the horizon. The sun was almost setting. I should buy enough time for the other squads to escape. I picked up the injured in my hands, hearing them cry out in fear. I ran with the squads in my large hands, feeling teeth sink into my legs. They were pursuing us. We were almost there. Almost. At. The. Walls. The other squads who hadn't been injured followed me, and they reached the Walls before I did.

Onyx was in my right hand. I didn't know why, but one of his eyes was closed, blood trickling under his eyelids. He wasn't there when Lilli died, and for that one small fact, I was grateful. He didn't have to know about it until absolutely necessary.

I reached the wall, and stupidly tripped. The soldiers I was holding in my hand tumbled forward, caught by the ones still using their 3DMG. I felt an excruciating, ripping pain. Someone cut me out from my neck.

I turned around, and saw another Titan, this one having cropped brown hair. William? I glanced back, and saw there were more Titan-shifters, all in their natural Titan form, heading toward us. The Titan holding me stared at my face then walked away from the Walls, away from my home.

I was exhausted from using a sudden Titan transformation, so I couldn't do anything but watch as William handed me to another Titan, who looked vaguely familiar. I blacked out, a soothing, comforting voice luring me into the darkness.

Rivaille's P.O.V.

"What the fuck am I supposed to do if one of my squad is kidnapped?" I growled at Erwin, who looked at me like nothing was wrong. All of the squads dispatched came back, except for a few dead people, but Aerellia never did.

They said that a large Titan brought them back to the Wall, but shortly after they had escaped, the body steamed, and it was presumed she was killed. "Her younger sister, Lilli Zakarius died shortly before she shifted." Erwin said calmly. "That is probably the reason why she shifted."

Aer's P.O.V.

I woke up on a table, strapped down. "She's awake." I heard someone say. "Should we kill her now and retrieve Eren, or do we use her as the Coordinate?"

Another voice chimed in. "She's an artificial Titan-shifter. She'll work just fine as the Coordinate. We have no need to kidnap Eren if we have her." This voice sounded like a male's, deep and heavy. "Though I would think about getting Annie back."

"Annie's a lost cause by now," the first voice said. "There's no point in getting her back. Though she was a powerful shifter, she failed her mission. That alone won't save her. Even so, when we take over Wall Sina, we'll get her back anyway."

"What do we do with the girl?"

"I suggest using the drug again."

"She already took it twice. We won't know if it'll have any effect on her."

I zoned out of that conversation, thinking instead of the past.

_"Aer, why don't you sing anymore?" Lilli looked up at me as she was sewing a small shirt, probably one for her doll. "I want to hear you sing. You switched to flute, but I still think your singing is tons better. You're so lucky you can sing! Mommy never compliments me whenever I sing."_

_ "Singing used to be my hobby," I said mildly. In truth, Rivaille had told me he wanted to be the only person who had heard me sing, so I was saving that talent for him. "It grew old, I guess." I shrugged, as I looked over her shoulder at her stitching. "What flower are you embroidering?"_

_ "It's a lily," she grinned cheekily. "Do you like it?"_

_ I patted her hair. "Of course." Later that day, Onyx was assigned Lilli duty, and I had a few precious minutes to spend with Rivaille. I saw him with a haunting expression, shadows under his eyes._

_ "Three squads died under my watch today." He said, almost in a whisper._

_ I immediately engulfed him in a hug, patting his shoulder. He was still new at being the Lance Corporal, and anyone would fall apart if they were responsible for other people's lives. "It wasn't your fault. Don't blame yourself." A tear trickled down his cheek, and I wiped it away._

_ I began to sing, softly, and rocked him back and forth as he kept his face pressed against my shoulder. The song was mainly composed of la's and ah's that stretched out into a soothing lullaby, one that I couldn't remember where I had learned it. It was Rivaille's favorite song, and always calmed him down._

My body jerked forward as I felt a familiar pinching sensation in my arm. It was the obvious sting of a syringe emptying its contents into my bloodstream. Did they intend to wipe my memory again?

_Amnesia is like a drug. You can't stop because you won't even remember you started._

Time Skip to One Year Later…

"Damn, Corporal's getting more kills today," Matt glanced at Eren. The Titans hadn't invaded for a long time, though the Survey Corps still went on their weekly expeditions outside the Walls. "Did something happen?"

Mikasa shushed him. "Today's the day Aer died. Don't you remember?"

Matt frowned, creases between his eyebrows. "I try not to, actually." He sat down, the gear hitting the wooden boards of the bench with an abrupt sound. "We don't even know if she's dead or alive. Why did everyone think she died?"

"Because," Eren said, gritting his teeth. He had finished the book Aer had given him, coming up to the pinnacle of his Titan strength. "No one has seen her Titan form or human form. We never even saw her body after rescue teams was sent out."

The shifter looked at Onyx, who was quiet. It had been like this ever since Onyx had been notified of both of his sisters' deaths. He had been accepted into Rivaille's squad as Aer's replacement, but he never spoke. Ever since the incident with Aer disappearing and Lilli dying, he had lost one eye. His right eye would be forever bandaged; leaving him scarred with a wound that would remind the fact he had let the rest of his only family die right under his nose. A sin he would never pardon himself for.

The group was waiting for their Corporal to finish the Titan rounds. Wall Maria had not yet been reclaimed, though the effort needed to get there was slow and steady. Lance Corporal Rivaille had been killing more Titans than usual, almost tripling his usual Titan kills in a day.

"What are you lazy asses doing standing around?" Rivaille landed next to them, his scowl deepening by the second. "Go kill the bastard Titans." He took off almost immediately, sparing only a few seconds to change his gas tanks.

Mikasa sighed. Aer hadn't left without an uproar. Someone had exposed the fact she was a shifter, and the general public thought of her as a person who had joined the Titans. If she were to appear now, convincing the King and the head of all three Military regions that she wasn't their enemy would be quite a chore.

"So it's the day she died," Matt murmured slowly.

Hanji soon flew next to them, her face optimistic as always. And as usual, a bit insane. "Ne, guys you should be helping out with catching the Deviants! They're so energetic today!" She squealed, not noticing the exchange of looks being passed around.

Aer's P.O.V.

"Sheesh, William, you could have at least let me go outside today," I pouted at my mentor. I was Aer, student and apprentice to the Titan-shifters. All they told me was that they had raised me when I was an orphan, but I hit my head on a rock, resulting in a loss of memory.

"You're still recovering," he reminded me. Yeah, I had recovered for a year. "We've waited out a year to invade the humans, but I'm not sure if the Ape Titan wants you to participate in that." He donned his casual wear, casually topping the look with a brown cap.

"Why not?"

He hesitated. "You were well-known in human society. Your parents blamed their crimes on you, so if people see you, they might attack. It isn't safe for someone like you. Don't wait up tonight. We're taking down another expedition."

"The Survey Corps haven't found our hideout yet?" I frowned. I didn't want them to find our hideout. Humans were greedy and selfish. That's why the Titans were invading them. I didn't want anything to do with them, but then again, I had never met a human. Even I was a shifter, raised by other shifters and Titans, but the Ape Titan had forbidden for me to shift.

As William left, I waited half an hour. Then I snuck out through the window, whistling. A small blackbird landed on my shoulder, and I smiled. The blackbird had often come chirping at me, and tossing its head at the Titans. I had convinced the shifters not to kill it, saying what harm could a small blackbird do? Whatever connection it had with me, the blackbird made me feel like I was at home.

Wherever that was, really.

"Chirp if you see a Titan," I whispered. I was pretty sure Titans wouldn't see me, as I blended in with the darkness, but I was also pretty sure they wouldn't notice if I went outside to pick some berries. The latter situation ended up with me being lectured by a bunch of shifters for a full hour. I was twenty-six years old, for Pete's sake. I was ready to _not _be coddled and spoiled.

I climbed a normal-sized tree far away from the forest. I saw a few soldiers out in the open, being eaten by the Titans. One had gotten close enough to see me, nestled in the brambles of the tree with a midnight blue traveling cloak. "Our savior…Aerellia…" He whispered. "You have come to fight for humanity once again."

The guy was delirious. I think. Humans really were peculiar. Still, the expression of suffering stayed in my thoughts after the guy was killed. The deadest eyes and the cruel mouth. Were all humans like this? It was no wonder the Titans and the shifters disliked them.

_"Sing, Aer, sing. Because you want to. Because you can."_

I started out with a basic lullaby, one that made a hollow ache in my chest, longing for something I couldn't remember ever wanting. It was quite simple, composed of the beginning ah's and la's. The way the two sounds stretched themselves out into a beautiful, echoing melody astonished me, and I sang louder, clearer.

I sang as I thrust my arms behind me, like a bird taking flight, my cloak rustling in the wind. Where had I learned this? The shifters didn't favor music, as it was something that humans did to entertain themselves.

Third Person P.O.V.

The minute the gentle song entered the forest, Rivaille immediately looked up. He couldn't remember where he had heard the sad, yet peaceful tune. The Titan he was attacking came to a stop, listening as well.

"Take control of the supply cart!" Erwin yelled his face indifferent to the suffering around him. "We need to retreat for now! All squads abandon station and move out! Special Operations Squad buys enough time for complete escape, and then retreats."

Aer's P.O.V.

The piece of music was carried by the wind, making my voice seemed like it was flowing like a smooth ribbon. A streak of pain coursed down my skull, and I saw a brief image. A girl's head, blood streaming behind it, and the air shaping it into the form of a thin ribbon.

I felt a pang of longing to go into the Forest of Giant Trees, only to stop myself midway. Why was I headed there? I had been instructed personally never to show myself to the humans. But, there was this feeling like I should be there. I should be with them.

Shifters or humans, I didn't know to whom I belonged to.

* * *

If you want to listen to what Aer sang, go to YouTube and look up Inuyasha's Lullaby (beginning). My friend introduced me to that song and ever since I just can't stop listening to it. . Thanks for reading! Please review~


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Aer's P.O.V.

"Aerellia!" I heard some human whisper it. This one was uninjured and looking at me like I was a ghost. "You're alive."

"No shit," I muttered. My fate was sealed. I was _so _going to be killed for this. I broke the rule of going outside during a human expedition. For me, meeting a human was considered taboo. The Ape Titan was very strict about that. But if I killed him now…no one would know about this. I jumped down the tree, pulling my hood over my head.

"Take control of the supply cart! We need to retreat for now! All squads abandon stations and move out! Special Operations Squad buys enough time for complete escape, then retreats." A loud –very loud- voice yelled. It was coming from inside the Forest.

The soldier frowned and took off, leaving me behind. I leaned against the small tree, my eyes tired. I didn't kill him. And now the humans knew I was alive. But really, what harm could that do? I was alive. So what?

Two Hours Later…

"You can't keep on going outside and disobeying our orders like this!" A shifter, Max, yelled. "This is what, the twentieth time? At this rate, you're going to be kicked out by the Ape Titan!" His lecture had been going on for about an hour now, his face a purple-red.

"I'm sure she's learned her lesson," William said, clapping a hand on Max's shoulder, all the while shooting a look at me. "Aer, why don't you go and find something to do? We'll take care of things here." Which basically meant _don't do anything forbidden for a while._

I walked outside, the refreshing air cooling my face. "Aer," Bertholdt and Reiner walked over to me, their faces disapproving. I knew of their Titan forms. "We're going inside the Walls for a while. The Ape Titan wants us to rescue Annie. And another shifter," At that, Reiner scowled. "One of us got caught."

"Who?" I was curious. Everyone had said the last mission was a success.

"Sara." That explained it. Sara wasn't really a skilled shifter, but she was one of the higher bosses around here. She knew about every single itty bitty detail there was in our plan to raid Wall Sina. "If she talks, we'll have to change our plans."

"Why are you telling me this?" I looked at them, confused. "I'm basically grounded by William and Max. In the first place, I wasn't allowed to go inside the Walls or shift either." I fingered my long blue traveling cloak. It reached my ankles, and had a hood that could cover my eyes.

"We got permission for you to come with us. But you have to leave your cloak on."

"Yes!" I pumped my fist in the air. Bertholdt threw a blue scarf at me.

"Wrap this around your neck before putting on the cloak so it'll cover your mouth and nose."

We snuck into the Walls by using a tiny crack. If you crawled through on your knees, you would later find yourself in the Walls or outside of them. Only shifters knew of the passage though. Humans wouldn't find it for another century. If they lasted that long.

Three-Person P.O.V.

"Aer was spotted?" Armin asked uncertainly as Mikasa and Eren filled him in with the latest news concerning the last report. "Are you sure it was her? Wait, no. Are you sure she was alive?" They were sitting on a wooden picnic bench, while the rest of the Special Operations squad loitered around Erwin's office, waiting for Rivaille to finish his meeting with the rest of the squad leaders.

"The scout said he was sure he saw her." Mikasa said firmly. "But he was the only one who saw her, and he might have been hallucinating at the time."

Meanwhile, in the office, Rivaille was having a horrible meeting. "I suggest we try to capture more Deviants." Hanji devilishly rubbed her hands together. "I've been doing a bunch of experiments in the past, but never have I experimented on a Deviant. If we can get our hands on one, it might give away some information on the shifters."

"Eren Jaeger has reported that Aerellia Jaeger has written in the book that he and everybody else can learn the truth about Titans in his basement." Erwin said, hands clasped in front of his face, and elbows on the desk. "She also mentioned regaining Rivaille's and Eren's memories through an antidote in the basement."

Rivaille frowned. "Unlike Eren, I never knew Aerellia. Why would I have to take an antidote too?" When Hanji and Erwin looked at him, he stood up. "Tsk. Whatever. I'll be in the marketplace with my squad."

Aer's P.O.V.

"It's so squishy," I muttered as I was jostled by yet another human. The market was crowded, too crowded for my liking. "Do humans really live like this? So claustrophobic." I followed Reiner and Bertholdt as they miraculously navigated their way through the market, like a maze. We were all wearing cloaks; the only difference was their cloaks were red, but mine was blue.

"Don't worry Aer," Reiner assured me, "We're almost there."

I sighed. We finally reached a small alleyway, tucked away in a little corner of the bustling market. "Wait outside," Bertholdt told me, slipping off his hood. Reiner did the same, but when I reached for my hood, he shook his head. Oh so they could take off the hot hood, while I had to keep it on? Yep, life was just so fair.

I leaned against the dank wall, trying to hold my breath. It smelled like sewage mixed in with urine. "Disgusting," I muttered, and walked outside, bumping into someone. I turned around, surprised. There was a group of people, led by a bad-tempered guy about my height. The wind fluttered my hood, and it fell back, making my black hair tumble out of the ponytail I always kept it in.

"Aer?" They all wore green traveling cloaks that looked vaguely familiar. The leader stepped forward, his eyes studying my violet eyes. "Aerellia?" One other guy, this one with blonde hair, was gaping at me. "Is that really you?" It was the blonde guy speaking.

I realized he bore startling resemblance to the head. The head that I saw fly through the air with the blood trailing behind it. It was a young girl. His younger sister, perhaps? Was I that known in human society that random people could identify me? "Amy!" Bertholdt and Reiner exited the house, hoods up. "Mother was wondering where you were!"

The short guy –well, he was the same height as me, but for a boy he was pretty short- scowled at the two. "And who might you two be? I need to go over some basic security check-ups with this girl. May I have a last name and a piece of evidence proving you live here?"

"We don't live here," Bertholdt replied. "We're residents of Wall Sina, visiting a friend. As for evidence, this should be enough, correct?" He raised a piece of cloth which had a family symbol imprinted on it. "We come from the family named Istherold. Though we're orphans now. Our parents got wiped out while visiting Dr. Jaeger in the Shiganshina District."

"I suppose you wouldn't mind if we escorted you back home?" Another girl spoke up. She was the only girl in the group, having shoulder-length black hair and a bright red scarf wrapped around her neck.

"In fact we do," Reiner said, grabbing my arm. "Amy, we're late." In five seconds I found myself being carried princess-style in Reiner's arms as the group pursued us. "Shit, they're fast." He looked over his shoulder. "We leave you alone for five seconds and you almost get killed by the police."

"Wouldn't it be better if we didn't run?" It made no sense. If we could smother the situation with a lie, it would be a lot more suspicious if we ran. "They don't look like they want to hurt us." I tugged my hood to cover my wavy black curls.

"Reiner, its Corporal Rivaille." Bertholdt shouted over the noise of the market. "He knows her! And that's Eren and Mikasa!"

We were almost at the Wall, where we could make our escape. Reiner had put me down, and I was running on my own. "Split up!" Reiner yelled. "I'll draw them off. Bertholdt, get her to the territory!"

It would have worked, had the shorty not saw that there was only one person, not three. He was chasing us, and I heard a zipping noise. "Three-D Maneuver Gear." Bertholdt muttered. "I completely forgot they had that."

A dull _thwack _hit my skull, and I tripped. A flute tumbled in my arms. Was it the thing that hit me? I looked up and saw the girl. She was holding another flute. The guy next to her was trying to get to me, but was being held back by the girl. "Eren," she said, "it's not safe for you to go."

"Let me go, Mikasa! It's her! I know her scent!"

I scrambled to my feet, running toward the crack. I burst through the small opening, reaching the Titan territory. They hadn't seen me run there, so they wouldn't know about the hole. Now that I had a chance to catch my breath, I examined the flute. It appeared to be made of ivory, and pretty blue flowers with vines were painted over it, making it look as if the plants actually grew on the instrument.

"Where did you get that?" Reiner and Bertholdt caught up to me. "Looks nice."

"I don't know." I hid the flute in one of the pockets of my pants. "It reminds me of something." It did. People, cheering in a small cabin. Why were we in the cabin? I had a recording of someone saying something. The pillows were ripping, feathers flying everywhere. A trail of bread crumbs leading from the door to the bed. Someone's bright red face, seen even through the darkness. A scratchy violin sound and then a beautiful, clear note

And my friends, laughing with me as the night went on. The real question was who were my friends?

Three Hours Later…

"They're talking about that again," I groaned, leaning against a small tree as the blackbird landed on my outstretched finger. "That the guy who can shift into more than one Titan form is aiming for a basement or something. It's boring."

The bird chirped, shaking its head.

"Oh, they're starting." I heard hooves thunder on the grass far away. "It won't even be five minutes before they're annulated not even close to the basement." Five minutes passed. Then I heard more zipping sounds and a giant thump that echoed through the earth. "What's happening?"

"Aer! Get inside now!" William roared as he ran toward the giant thumps, his hand close to his mouth. "They're switching their battle plan! At this rate, they'll find the hideout!" He shifted, a tall armored Titan with long brown hair and gleaming eyes.

"William?" He wasn't supposed to participate. I ran inside the house, bolting the locks, breathing heavily. Humanity had outsmarted us. "What should I do?" I asked the blackbird, clapping a hand over my mouth to stop the heavy sobs from coming out. "I'm scared."

I had never met a human who had meant harm to me. These squads, they were ones who killed without mercy. Tears flowed down my cheeks, trickling past my hand over my mouth. The blackbird gently tugged away at the hand over my mouth. It gave way, and the heavy sobs racked my body.

"I'm scared," I whispered. The blackbird whistled, and the flute tumbled out of the folds of my cloak. The ivory shone in the bare sunlight, and I snatched it up, holding it close to my chest. I hated being protected all the time. William, my mentor, was always found protecting me. The Ape Titan commanded me to never go outside or shift. Max always yelled at me when I broke the rules, but there was always a hint of worry in his voice.

"Why am I the only one being protected?!" I screamed, my hands over my ears. My mentality was falling apart by the second.

_There is one thing you can do, human. You can kill. You can murder without hesitation. You can tear apart families and friends. You can have your revenge._

"No," I whispered, realizing that my Titan side wanted to shift. She wanted to kill. "I don't want that."

_Then what do you want, little human? Will you be the ones scaring the sheep into the pen, or will you be one of those sheep being scared into the pen?_

The glass window next to me shattered, shards flying everywhere. I saw a steaming corpse in the distance. William. Five figures with uniforms and gear were standing, having broken the window. Four boys, one girl.

This time, I bit down on my cheek without hesitating, my blood tasting like copper in my mouth. The leader held out his hand at me, but it was too late. I regarded them with a wary eye and formed a clear goal. _I will avenge William._

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please review~


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Aer's P.O.V.

I shifted for the first time in five years. The change was quick and painless, though I could almost feel my body stretching out. Another boy shifted as well, but he was a human. He was one of the ones who killed William. I knocked him down with a kick in the head, barely missing his neck.

He punched me in the face, and my blood splattered everywhere, staining the grass and air with a sharp scent. I aimed to kill the humans watching us, but the Titan kept on defending them to the point I would be overwhelmed by sheer power alone.

_Aer, run away. _Max's Titan voice boomed in my head. _Specific orders were given for you to never shift. Nor were you supposed to interact with the humans. _He ran past me and engaged in a fight with the other Titan-shifter. _We need you alive. _

_ William is dead. _I shot back. But, I knew he was serious, so I ripped myself out of the Titan body, and dropped onto the ground. As soon as my feet hit the surface, I took off running. What I saw next made my stomach give a lurch. I came to a stop. William was there, but the lower half of his body was torn off.

"Aer, take this." He weakly pressed a vial into my hands. I glanced at him then took off in the direction opposite of the humans. They chased after me as Max and the other shifter wrestled with each other.

Without hesitating, I took the potion and got knocked out almost immediately.

Third-Person P.O.V.

The Special Operations Squad had a different plan from the beginning. They had private orders to retrieve Aer. With that being done, all squads regrouped at the Walls, with minimum casualties. The shifters hadn't expected the change of plans, and it was one of humanity's few victories.

"Rivaille, Eren." Erwin tossed both of them two glass bottles. "We got this at the basement. Drink up."

Onyx watched them uncork the flasks. "Are you sure that isn't poison?" He was charged with the task of watching Aer. She had gotten unconscious, and hadn't woken up since they found her. "It looks suspicious to drink."

Immediately, Rivaille and Eren both gagged, coughing after drinking the concoction. "This tastes and looks like shit," Rivaille growled. He flung the empty bottle to the ground, shattering it into a million microscopic glass pieces.

Rivaille's P.O.V.

_"Dude look at Rivaille! He's so weird!" I heard another boy insult me again and scowled. "His face is so scary…and whenever someone tries to talk to him, he just rejects them." I glared at the group and they looked away._

_ "Hi!" A girl walked up to me, smiling. "You're Rivaille, right? The transfer from Wall Rose?" She had brown hair and blue eyes, her hair loose and wavy. "I'm Aerellia. It's nice to meet you, Rivaille!" Without even bothering to hear my reply, she sat down next to me, humming to herself while closing her eyes._

_ "What the fuck do you want?" I snarled, not bothering to be kind. Was she here to tease me?_

_ "Nothing," she said surprised. "Did you need something? Well, right now, lemonade would be nice, but I guess I'll have to wait until my dad comes home. He works late."_

_ I gave up on scaring her away. This girl was a total and utter idiot._

_Five Years Later…_

_ "Rivaille!" Aerellia waved at me. I halfheartedly waved back. It had been five years since Aerellia and I had become friends. I was starting to think of her as my girlfriend –a thought I was sure I would regret later- but she didn't act any different to me._

_ I was lying down on the grass, my head on the grass. She leaned over me, face over mine. I sat up and looked at her. She was patting a small chipmunk, carefree as usual. Without pausing, I leaned in and kissed her._

_ And she kissed me back._

_ After our mini make-out session, I was sleeping with my head on her lap. She was fiddling with my hair. "You're planning on joining the Survey Corps, right?" Her voice was in a low whisper._

_ "Yeah."_

_ "Don't die," she said, and something wet fell on my cheek. I looked up and saw tears coming out of her eyes, even though she was smiling. "Don't die."_

_ "What makes you think I will?" I asked haughtily. I wasn't so weak as to die in the hands of a monster._

_ "Ne, Rivaille, just in case one of us goes anywhere, let's make a promise." She cradled my cheek with the palm of her hand, smiling. "We'll always find each other no matter what, okay?"_

_ "What a sappy promise," I muttered. A second later, my head hit the ground with a thump and she was crying, thrown over the shoulder of another man like a sack of potatoes. "Aerellia!"_

_ "Rivaille!" She reached out for me, and our hands met for one second before she was torn away from me._

_ The next morning, Dr. Jaeger visited me and wiped my memory. "It's not working," he muttered, "Why are you so emotionless?"_

Aer's P.O.V.

I stirred, feeling something uncomfortable, hard and stiff poke my back. I sat up, sleepily rubbing my eyes. "Where am I?" I asked. Faces gaped at me, obviously surprised. Or maybe scared? I saw a hint of fear.

"Don't you remember me?" A blonde guy wearing funny-looking boxes took my hand. "Lilli? Layla? Mike? Eren?" I shook my head and he dropped my hand. "Who are you?!" He yelled, angry. "You forget about how you let Lilli die?!" His right eye was bandaged, but it looked like an old wound.

"Onyx, go away." Another man roughly grabbed my arm and dragged me away. "What the hell happened to you, Aer?"

Three Months Later…

"Aer! Aer!" Ms. Hanji Zoe called out, looking for me, while I giggled to myself. "Ri-chan isn't going to be happy if we lose you! Come out!" I had gotten to know everyone, but the select few that acted as my guards were my closest friends. Armin Arlert, Jean Kirschtein, Hanji Zoe, Sasha Braus, and Connie Springer.

"Aer, get the fuck out of wherever you're hiding or I'll beat the shit out of you." A new voice joined, making me gulp. Corporal Rivaille was scary, but at the same time, he comforted me. He couldn't get over the fact I acted so 'child-like' when I was almost twenty-seven years old.

I had serious amnesia, but Commander Erwin assigned a new squad to guard me because I was a 'Coordinate' that could be used in the Titan's victory. I didn't even know what Titans were. I stepped out in the greenhouse, peeking around the corner.

Almost immediately, a hand seized the back of my jacket, lifting me up. Corporal Rivaille was holding me up by my jacket, my feet inches from the ground. He looked like he was in a bad mood. "Hey, Corporal," I said, swinging back and forth. The guy was short, but he was strong enough to lift me up.

"You finally address me as Corporal," Corporal Rivaille muttered, making me look at him curiously. "Never mind." He dropped me, and I tripped on a flowerpot, falling face-first on the ground. "Get up already."

"I would if you weren't stepping on my cape." I said my voice muffled. I felt the pressure lift off of my clothing article. "Thanks, Corporal!" I then saw his eyes were shadowed. "What happened today?" I sat down, patting the space next to me.

He sat down too. "Nothing."

"It can't be just anything!" I leaned my face close to his, my hair brushing my face. "Tell me," I whined and he sent another glare in my direction. "The Scouting Legion's going on another expedition tonight right?" An idea occurred to me, and I smiled. "I'll sing a song for good luck!"

I hummed the simple tune, one that had clung onto my mind. It was a song with no words, replacing words with ah's and la's. As I started to finish, Rivaille pressed his lips to mine, stopping the melody altogether.

I froze up, and he left. I touched my mouth, remembering the feeling of that kiss. "Aer!" Sasha saw me but paused. "Why is your face so red?!"

Third-Person P.O.V.

"Tell us who the Coordinates are and why they're needed." Erwin leaned forward. A shifter, Sara, was being detained in the same exact cell Eren was held in. Eren and Rivaille stood by, prepared to attack should anything out of ordinary happen.

"The original Coordinate was that kid," Sara said, jerking her head to the direction of Eren. "But Aerellia was soon found to be an artificial shifter as well. William, her original teacher who taught her the basics of shifting, and Max, the leader of our sector of the shifters, were keeping her safe. When the day comes, a Coordinate will die, be it that kid or Aerellia."

"What happened to Aerellia?"

"You really didn't think we had drugs that could erase memories as well?" She let out a haughty laugh. "Unfortunately, there was only one medicine that could unlock the sealed memories, and you wasted it on the shorty and kid over there. If Aerellia got captured, we planned to erase her memories."

"What kind of bastard would think of you as a comrade?" Rivaille growled. "You have no loyalty to your side whatsoever."

"Says the guy who loves a girl who doesn't even remember how to feel emotion. They are no match for what my life is worth."

"One more question. What are the Titan shifters aiming for?"

Sara opened her mouth then closed it. "I can't tell you that. Because I'm a shifter, and I don't even know."

Aer's P.O.V.

"Ne, Hanji, what are Titans?" I asked the eccentric woman again as she watched me play with the blackbird that seemed to have followed me. They let me keep it, though and I found it to be a playful companion.

"They're amazing," she said drooling a little.

"No they're not," Jean interrupted. "They're disgusting."

"Really?" I leaned forward, captivated by the topic of discussion. "Can I see one?"

"My Sawney and Bean!" Hanji wailed. "You would have become such great friends with them had they lived!" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sasha and Connie both face-palm.

"Sawney and Bean?"

"Leave it up the Hanji to name them after cannibals." Armin said, smiling cheerfully. "We're all assigned to go on an expedition with Corporal Rivaille next week. Do you think you handle being by yourself?"

"Don't worry about me," I said, waving them off. "I'll be fine."

Third-Person P.O.V.

Sara watched Erwin stare at her. "That's creepy."

"How are shifters formed?" He shot back.

"There are artificial and natural shifters. Artificial ones are called Coordinates. Natural ones are turned by the Ape Titan."

"The Ape Titan?"

"Yep. He's the one that makes the Titans and shifters. If you kill him, there will be no more Titans. But he hasn't appeared to humanity in a while. And he has no weak points; the normal Titans defend him. The shifters that have tried to kill him always died."

"Why does a Coordinate have to die?"

"Coordinates weren't made to exist." She said lazily. "Originally, humanity would have been wiped out centuries ago had it not been for the fact that a Coordinate lived. For humanity to win, a Coordinate would have to be killed. For the Titans to win, a Coordinate would still have to be killed. Coordinates are a race destined to die, Erwin. Eren Jaeger has a possibility of living through the war and surviving at the end, but Aerellia Shikaze won't survive. She's has a death rate of one hundred percent."

"Aerellia Shikaze? She's a blood sibling of Eren Jaeger, making her a Jaeger as well."

"Aer wasn't born in these Walls," Sara said laughing. She looked like a maniac, twisted and insane. "She never even met Jaeger! We captured Dr. Jaeger and twisted the memories of him and everyone else! To humans, she's Aerellia Jaeger! To Titans, she's Aerellia Shikaze, the daughter of the long-deceased man who had controlled the Ape Titan and all of the shifters!"

"Commander, she's going mad." A soldier said with his gun trained on the shifter.

"We always intended for her to be the sacrifice! To kill the girl who was related to the man who had complete control over us! He wouldn't even let us exterminate the humans for good and instead mated with one! The girl turned out to be human and he invented the Titan drug, pinning the credit onto Jaeger! Poor, poor Aerellia! She was always a puppet to us!"

"But she is Eren's sister, correct?" Erwin looked at the girl.

"She is, she is! She's blood related to the other Coordinate! But we never said she was the daughter of Grisha and Carla Jaeger!" She laughed again, her body shaking. "Aerellia was stupid enough to think that Titans can't sense humans if they can't see them! If she wasn't a Shikaze, born for the purpose of dying, she would have been eaten up by Titans years ago when she was surviving in the ruins! Aerellia donated blood to Jaeger! It was used in the serum Grisha gave to him so they're blood siblings, but she was never the true daughter of the Jaeger family!"

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please review~


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten:

The Final Battle Part I

Third-Person P.O.V.

"From the very beginning, Aerellia had her memory wiped," Sara muttered. She was staring at the ceiling. Commander Erwin had frequently questioned her about this particular topic. "The Shikaze family consisted of four members. Aerellia Shikaze, the girl born to die. The mother, who was unknown. To outsiders, Shikaze only used her to get children, but we always knew he loved her. Part of the reason he probably demanded for us to cease all human extinction when they retreated to the Walls was most likely due to the fact she died by Titan means."

"You only listed three." Erwin said, stoic. "Who's the fourth member?"

"No one knows," Sara said, "For the parents only created one child. But everyone always said there was a fourth member, a person no one knew about. But Aerellia was well-known. And well-hated. Shikaze controlled us to the extent we would die of exhaustion."

"Does he have a first name?"

"No. He was kind to only Aerellia and her mother, but treated us with scorn. We were often given suicide missions, but whenever we asked him about it, he always told us that our goal was to vanquish humanity even if it meant our lives." She closed her eyes, breathing slowly. "Erwin, you're one of the people who have thrown away your humanity, correct? To save humanity, you threw it away right from the start. In all terms, you're no better than I."

Aer's P.O.V.

Step one, two, three, jump, and then curtsy. "This feels so natural," I muttered, "Almost like I've done it before." I ended the Swan Lake ballet performance and sat down next to Armin. "What did Mikasa and Eren talk to you guys about? I'm sorry I slept through it though."

"They're getting married!" Hanji screamed.

"It makes sense," Sasha said, "I mean if we're all going to die soon, might as well get married now before dying." She was munching on a warm potato. "But Jean keeps on sulking." She pointed to Jean, who had indeed been sulking in a corner of the greenhouse.

"I've always imagined Mikasa as the groom and Eren as the bride…" Connie muttered, his voice trailing off.

I clapped my hands together. "I wonder if I can help Mikasa with her dress! The ceremony would be this week, right? If they're going on the expedition in two weeks, they would probably have it before that." I was excited. My first wedding!

"We can have a Titan-themed wedding!" Hanji squealed, completely not getting the point. "It'll be beautiful! Everyone will be amazed and surprised by our awesome idea of making the wedding the first Titan-themed wedding."

"No way," Armin protested, "Mikasa and Eren would never make anything Titan-themed."

Four Hours Later…

I groaned, flopping one arm over my eyes. The rest of the squad had gone on another expedition today, leaving me alone in the library. "What should I do? Its boring reading books all day. How can people do this stuff?" The blackbird chirped and tugged me toward another thick volume. "Titan-Shifting Lesson Guide." I read aloud. "Written by Aerellia Jaeger. Dedicated to my dear sister, Lilli, whom has given me hope for humanity and to Eren, my younger brother, who will one day save humanity."

It turns out the book was chock full of information regarding shifters. It clearly explained the way to obtain Titan senses, how to control shifts, and how to use a variety of Titan skills while in the body of one. "Eren, when you finish reading this, I'll be gone," I read aloud. The book was so interesting I was almost finished, with a couple of pages to spare. "Physically, or mentally, I'll be gone and probably will never return. Remember everything in this book. William was an excellent teacher and I regret the fact you two will never meet. This is the best I can teach you at the moment. Farewell, Eren. I wish you the best."

In the margins, someone had written something in faded ink. I narrowed my eyes. "In this illusion you have created, you can fly in freedom. But if you never try, your wings will be bound to the earth." The handwriting was slashed and completely messy from the neat writing used for the majority of the book.

"What are you reading?" Rivaille's irritated and clear voice resounded across the archive of books. "I never took you for someone who liked to read books all day." He was neat as a pin despite having come back from a surely bloody expedition.

"I'm not," I frowned at him. I was laying on top of the wooden table, looking at him upside-down. "You people left me all alone while you went on your fancy-killing-trip-expedition-mission-thingy! What am I supposed to do all alone?"

He shrugged then he immediately looked at the book. "What's that?"

"Nothing." I hid the book under my back, moving it out of view.

"I asked you a question, and as your superior, I expect you to answer me properly. Now give me the damn book." He walked up to me and started to wrestle the guide out of my hands. "Let go of it, Aer!"

"No!" I yelled. He grunted in reply, and I held onto the book. "Corporal stop it! It hurts!"

"Oooohhh Ri-chan are you getting hot and heavy with Aer-chan today?!" The squad leader Hanji burst through the doors. Her eyes were sparkling. "Can I name the baby?!"

"No!" Corporal Rivaille barked. "I don't trust you and your cannibalistic names."

"Ri-chan's so mean…" Hanji moped in a corner by herself. I could almost see a dark aura around her form.

"Hanji, what did you want?" I asked, hiding the book under my butt. Now Corporal Rivaille surely wasn't getting the book. "Did the expedition end already?"

"Nope," she shrugged, "The wedding's today. Of course, preparations are kind of rushed but since everyone's going to be there, Eren and Mikasa are fine with that. They wanted me to come and tell you about it since you never got to really talk to them."

"Eren and Mikasa are coming?!" I jumped up excitedly, and Corporal Rivaille took the opportunity to snatch the book. "Hey, give that back!"

"Titan-Shifting Lesson Guide," he read slowly, "Aer, why are you reading this?"

"It's interesting," I muttered, "And it sounds familiar. Aerellia Jaeger must be a really good novelist. I was wondering if I could contact her and ask how she got all of this information together." I clasped my hands hopefully, looking at Corporal Rivaille. "Do you think I could?"

Hanji froze at my words and slowly turned to look at Corporal Rivaille. The upper half of his face was dark, making it impossible to see his expression. "Aerellia Jaeger is dead," he said simply, "because of the Titans."

"Aw," I sighed, and then took a closer look at his face. "Corporal Rivaille, did something happen between you and Aerellia Jaeger? You looked so sad just now."

"Aer!" Hanji interrupted me, "Didn't you want to go and help Mikasa with her dress?"

"Oh yeah!" I jumped up and ran to the door. "See you two later!"

Third Person P.O.V.

Hanji slowly looked at Rivaille. "Are you sure you don't want to tell her? You have nothing to lose now."

His fists were clenched. "What are you talking about?" The question came out more like a comment.

"Everyone can see it, Rivaille." For once, the Titan-crazy squad leader called the corporal by his name. "You love her. She can't see it. I have a theory for that. If she forgot about everything…she might've even forgotten how to feel."

"Bullshit," Rivaille muttered, "We're human. Of course we know how to feel."

"Family, friends, a lover." Hanji stated. "She has none. Her friends are only us, the people who can't even tell her the truth. Family, all were killed. Eren has been ordered to never get close to her either. Lovers. Rivaille, you don't want to admit it, but you love her. Those three things are necessary to feel emotion. She doesn't even have one of them. And being human…she's a Titan-shifter who has taken the same exact drug three times. Her existence can't possibly be human or Titan."

Meanwhile back at the cell…

"How's Aerellia?" Sara asked, leaning back. "Could I possibly speak to her?" When the guard shook his head, she sighed. "So they're keeping it a secret from her? How boring. I didn't think humans were this stupid."

"Well, I guess the Titans would win either way," she murmured thoughtfully. "It's amazing humans have even survived this far."

Aer's P.O.V.

"Mikasa, stop moving!" I felt her shift around again as I surveyed her white-clad body with pins in my mouth. I took them out and smiled. "You look gorgeous! Eren's going to love you in this dress!" Really, it had taken us more than five hours for her to chose a dress.

She was almost aglow with happiness. "I'm so excited!"

Five Hours Later…

"Congratulations!" We all yelled at the couple. Music started playing and I walked off by myself outside, enjoying the fresh air. Honestly, if I had the chance to, I would have gone outside during the ceremony but it felt so rude to do just that.

"Everyone's happy," I heard Onyx behind me. "Why aren't you with them?" I shrugged. The telltale click of a pistol made me freeze. I slowly turned around and saw Onyx aiming a pistol at me. "Why did you forget?" His voice was trembling. "Why did you forget how you promised to never let Lilli die? How did you forget about that promise and let her die?!"

"Onyx?" I asked. "I'm sorry, but who is Lilli?" He sighed and dropped the gun. "Are you alright? Should I go get Corporal Rivaille?"

"No, it's fine," he muttered, "Go away." With that, he walked off. I snuck off into a bush and dragged the Titan book out. The last few pages were mainly dedication pages, but I was determined to read the whole entire thing through from start to finish

_Eren, before I finish this, I must tell you something. The Shikaze family. They're composed of four members: the father, the mother, the twin girls. I've only heard of this recently, so little is known to me of this particular subject._

_ From what the rumors say, the Shikaze family are the real enemies. The father is heard to be the Ape Titan. Titans are formed through two ways, correct? (And you should know this by now if you actually read the whole book.) There are the artificial Coordinates, and the natural ones turned by the Ape Titan._

_ When humanity was diminished, we swept ourselves away to the safety and confines of the Walls, but we made a grave mistake. We let the Ape Titan live. He made more natural Titan shifters and more Titans. Generally, the enemy is the Ape Titan._

_ I leave that task up to you. Kill the Ape Titan and avenge everyone who has suffered at the hands of the Titans._

Third Person P.O.V.

Sara closed her eyes. "Humans really are odd," she murmured, "They won't live to see another day." She reached under her clothes and drew out a remote control. She pressed the large red button, sighed, and leaned back, content. "They are partying at such a simple reason."

"Sara?!" A voice buzzed through the control. "Are you alright? We're coming."

The guard didn't hear any of it. "I'm fine, Max. I alert, prime time to invade and destroy humanity. Give orders for Operation Five-Point-Oh, send out Squads Sixteen and Nineteen. On my orders, prepare to invade the walls. Get Bertholdt on backup with the other Colossal Titans and Reiner on hold. Prepare to break down all three Walls on my watch."

"Squads Sixteen through Nineteen have been prepared. Operation Five Point Oh is on current work. All shifters prepared to participate! All Titans put on standby, counting down on Strategy Leader Sara's watch!"

"Go," Sara whispered. "All squads, invade the human Walls!" The guard had left, leaving her with the communication device.

"Sara, I thank you for being our spy." That simple sentence was all Max said before he left, leaving the control buzzing in her hands.

Aer's P.O.V.

"Commander Erwin! Corporal Rivaille!" A messenger ran up to the building on top of a horse. Interested, I walked inside. "All three Walls have been breached! Dallis Zacklay has ordered for every soldier to take part!"

"Everyone, Squads One through Three, protect the citizens! Rest of you engage combat with the Titans!" Erwin roared. For a split second, time stood still. Then everyone was rushing outside, eager for some spilt blood from the Titans.

I ran outside with the others, and grabbed my horse. The black stallion ran smoothly and quickly too. In minutes, we were near the Titans.

It was raining blood, both human and Titan. It stung my face, my hands. _You have finally awoken, human._

"Aer!" Rivaille grasped my arm and dragged me back. "You're going to have to stay inside for now."

"Rivaille, I'm fine," I protested. For now, I would have to act like I never knew anything. "I just wanted to see the Titans!"

"Get back inside," he roughly shoved me back.

Rivaille's P.O.V.

As the squad and I ran off to the breach, I reviewed the conversation with Aerellia. Then I realized something out of place. She hadn't called me Corporal. She called me Rivaille.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please review~


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

The Final Battle Part II

Aer's P.O.V.

"Sara," I blended into the shadows, stepping into the light, into the view of the shifter. "I never thought I would find you here. Really, have you resorted to such cowardly methods such as spying on the enemy?" I shook my head. "What side are you on?"

"Aerellia," She hissed, "I should be asking you that. Titans never played fair in the first place. What made you think we would start now? I presume you have regained your memory. Such a pity too. I was planning to kill you while you were innocent to the world."

I laughed. "My bloodstained hands won't become clean just because I had simply forgotten how unclean I was. I was hoping that the leaders of the shifters would change their methods. Sara, you have been turned into a shifter out of revenge correct?"

She raised her eyebrows. "You haven't remembered your full memories. I can see it in your eyes. You only remember bits and pieces. The only medicine in the world to completely unlock sealed memories is gone. The shorty and kid drank it all. So I ask you this one question. How did you regain half of your memory?"

"It appears that the mixture of Titan and human blood may be half of the serum left by Shikaze," I said dryly, "The other half is unknown. Even Shikaze didn't tell me about this kind of stuff." I looked at her, curious. "How long have you known I was his daughter?"

"We all knew," Sara said, "It was common knowledge. Who is the second child of the Shikaze family, Aerellia? I've always expected something was amiss with that particular subject." She leaned back, content with the topic of discussion.

"My twin," I muttered, "That is all I remember of her. She's human too. Let me ask you this. The Ape Titan is Shikaze. But he's not human. It's impossible; Titan's can't mate with a human. So he had to be at least a shifter. Where did his human side go?"

She shrugged. "This is new to me. Aerellia, in the past few decades, we have discovered that it is possible for shifters to completely become Titan. Kill off their human side and merge into one true Titan. That is a possible way Shikaze might've become a full Titan. What side are you on, Aerellia? Are you the sheep being scared into the pen, or are you the ones scaring the sheep into the pen?"

"I plan on being the lock on the pen that separates both sides." I whispered, "The sheep and wolves shall decide this war themselves. I will simply be the final contract between the sides." I walked away. "Thank you, Sara. You've been a good friend while it lasted."

"Aerellia!" Sara jerked on her chains. "No way…you can't possibly hope to survive what you're planning on doing." She had finally realized the full extent of my plan, conditions and all. "You can only shift up to a maximum of two times, Aerellia!"

"Wasn't it you who told Erwin a Coordinate had to die?" I asked slowly. "I don't plan on letting Eren die, Sara. I'm a Coordinate too. Eren will defeat my father, but that's all I can see in the future. Whether humanity wins is none of my business as a deserter to both sides."

I ran outside and found a 3DMG. It was on a dead soldier's body, but still worked fine. "Protect the Walls even if it means your life!" I heard Erwin yell. They really were desperate. The shifters hadn't reached Wall Sina yet, but at this rate, humanity would die off before sunset.

"Eren!" It was Mikasa. I saw the Ape Titan, and then Eren shifted. He was planning to face the Ape Titan. It was all going along with my predictions. Now it was time for me to play my part. I saw the Special Operations Squad fly down and cover Eren, ensuring that no Titan would harm him.

I bit my hand and shifted. Since many shifters were shifting on and off, my transformation went unnoticed. I saw Max's Titan form, but William's was nowhere to be found. His death saddened me, but I hardened my resolve. He was dead. I couldn't do anything about that.

Running toward the breach in the Walls, it seemed, was harder than shifting. Due to my Shikaze blood, normal Titans didn't notice me. But the shifters did. And many of them were bent on revenge for the years and years my father had controlled them.

They didn't know that they could hold their revenge on the Ape Titan, who was my father.

Third Person P.O.V.

Rivaille cursed. "Corporal Rivaille?" He saw another cadet getting treatment for a broken leg. "Aren't you supposed to be out in the field with your squad?" This soldier was one of the few squads dispatched to rescue citizens.

Most of the citizens had been migrated to the safety and confines of Wall Sina. But it was only a matter of time before the shifters broke through Sina as well. "Where is Aer?" The soldier's face was scrunched up in confusion.

"She should be in the greenhouse. Why?"

Without bothering to answer, the corporal quickly strode to the greenhouse and ripped the door open. It was empty, save for a few chirping and fluttering birds.

"Rivaille, get back out to the fields," Erwin ordered, "We're really dependent on you this time."

Aer's P.O.V.

I barreled through all of them. Start with the Shiganshina District. I was pretty quick for a Titan, but it still took me more than ten minutes to reach that Wall. I sat down in the breach hole and ignored the Titans biting my body. I recited the lesson I had written in the Titan Guide I had given Eren.

_Over a century ago, Titans appeared, along with the three Walls. Sina, Rose, and Maria. Those three Walls all have something in common. They were all the names of female shifters. You might be wondering why I would be mentioning this._

_ The past is important too. Sina, a Colossal Titan shifter. And no, I never knew her. I'm not that old, Eren. She created Wall Sina. It was originally just a 'wall.' A human named it Wall Sina after witnessing her sacrifice. The three Walls are made out of Titan shifter bodies, Eren._

_ It's a lengthy process. Those three shifters were on the side of humanity. By using repetitive shifting and hardened skin, you can create a new Wall. This is not an option for you, Eren. If you do this, I swear to the devil, I will fricken come back, drag you from the Titan body, and put you in a jail cell with Mikasa watching you, saying you tried to commit suicide, and therefore needed to be watched._

_ You can only shift three times, maximum. Even so, your human physical body might not handle it, and you may slip into a coma. Don't you dare follow Mother in death, Eren! Guess how many times Sina shifted? She made the wall with a total of fifty shifts. Of course she died._

_ The Colossal Titan bodies found inside Wall Sina developed a will of their own. They soon became normal Colossal Titans after she created the Wall. A small cult of people, the ones who had witnessed her death, fiercely protected this secret and risked a lot of things._

_ Due to the fact the layers and layers of hardened skin, they couldn't reach sunlight, making them immobile. Same thing goes for Rose and Maria. Except for the fact they only shifted a few times and maximized their skin hardening. That is why when Bertholdt kicked down the Shiganshina District, the cracks did not reach the Titan body. It's mainly hardened skin in Wall Rose and Maria._

_ You can learn from the past. Even though they knew this was a suicide mission, they went on with it, and here we are, still fighting the Titans. That is why, Eren, you are the key to success. I will die. Those simple three words are ones I've known since birth. Even if I've had amnesia about it, that fact has always been held in my heart._

_ Kill the Ape Titan. Sina, Rose, and Maria all intended for humanity to live on. You have been chosen as the Coordinate to inherit that wish. You might be sad that not much people can help you with this. It's a heavy burden, to carry the fate and victory of humanity on your shoulders._

_ Don't tell anyone I'm plotted to die. It's unnecessary sadness. Sina, Rose, and Maria are all free now. Every shifter has been chained down with invisible, but eternal chains that only Death may free us of. You are free. You've been free since your birth._

_ These are the last Walls, Eren. The Germany Walls are the last. The Oriental, Canadian, American, African, Russian, and Indian Walls have collapsed. Protect humanity until your final breath. I can trust that with you._

_ Don't ask about the other Walls. I do not remember much about them. Only Shikaze knew. I'm sorry for doing this to you, Eren. Amongst other sheep, you are the only black sheep. The wolves are invading the pen. The black sheep is designed to be a hero._

_ You are the hero destined to save humanity, Eren Jaeger._

_ I miss the days where we would go fishing as a family together._

_ Those days feel they were nothing more than a fleeting dream._

_ It's time for me to wake up from this dream._

_ I'm sorry._

_ I won't ask for your forgiveness right now._

_ The day I ask for it would be the day I say goodbye forevermore._

"Go!" I roared, and my body steamed. The skin crystallized, forming a barrier. The Titans couldn't bite through the skin and they walked away, having given up. The crystal spread, forming almost a complete seal to Shiganshina. Right before the last hole closed up, I ripped myself out and rolled through, barely missing the crystal rapidly spreading.

I was exhausted. Yet, I shifted again, and headed to the breach in Wall Rose. The rock had been pushed aside, leaving a gaping hole where the boulder previously stood. I curled up in the space, wincing when I felt teeth sink into my arms and legs. I was big enough to almost fill in the crack with just my body alone, but then the corpse would be pushed aside.

Rivaille's P.O.V.

My blood pounded in my veins as I killed more Titans. I couldn't find Aerellia anywhere, and I had promised myself not to let her die.

_She was unconscious again, so Erwin made us move her to the hospital wing. The very same nurse that had treated her when she had difficulty breathing was there. "What's wrong with Aer, Corporal? Did she faint again?"_

_ "No," I muttered. She gently flipped Aerellia over and unbuttoned her shirt. I didn't leave, watching as she slid the shirt off. There were no scars on her back. It was completely smooth and unmarred. _

_ "Well, she'll need a bit of rest," the nurse concluded, "I don't see anything physically wrong with her. With a day or two of sleep, she should be back on her feet in no time." She stood up, pulled a blanket over Aerellia, and left the room, shoes clicking against the floor._

_ I sat on a stool, watching Aerellia slowly breathe in and out. "You're causing a lot of trouble you know," I told her immobile form. Even when she was completely unconscious, she still made so much work for everyone to do. I could almost hear her laughter. "I won't let this happen again," I whispered, "I promise, Aerellia, I'll make sure you won't die."_

I saw Eren in his Titan form. The Ape Titan was losing badly. If this continued, humanity would win. But if I couldn't find her alive and safe, it would be a loss to me.

_I had joined the group of street rats and gangs after Aerellia was taken away. She was my only reason to live. With that in mind, I joined them and got introduced to a life full of crime and thievery. She really wouldn't have approved. Still, even as I joined the criminals underground, I still kept clean._

_ Because…one day she told me to always be clean._

_ "Rivaille!" She clucked her tongue once she saw all of the mud I had tracked in on me. "You have to be clean, at the very least!"_

_ "Why? Your standards of clean are sparkling." She was always the clean-freak, wiping the windows from the inside and outside, stuffing tissue paper into her shoes. "In normal people terms, this is clean enough."_

_ "You'll feel better if you're clean," she said, smiling. "Because if, inside, you are stained and dirty, you can at least prove you can be clean and unstained on the outside. But really, it will just make you feel better."_

After that simple flashback, I devoted myself to killing the Titans around Eren. Because that's what Aerellia would have done.

_Rivaille, you don't have to do everything. Just do the things that you think will make a major impact on the people around you. That's how humans operate. We help each other. Because we can feel. We have emotions._

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please review~

And yes, this story is coming to an end soon.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

The Final Battle Part III

Aer's P.O.V.

Fatigue weighed down on my arms and legs, making it feel like I was trudging through cement. In short, I was exhausted. Luckily, I only had one more shift left. Wall Sina had been broken through, despite Eren's fierce battle with the Ape Titan. They slowly came into my line of vision.

The Ape Titan looked like he was losing badly. The shifters and normal Titans that were originally on backup couldn't get there due to the fact I had sealed the surrounding Walls, trapping them in.

Of course, that also meant that humanity could be extinguished here without any means of escape as well.

Eren was still keeping it up though. It must have been…what, an hour since he shifted? That was pretty good for someone who only read a book about how to learn everything to becoming a Titan.

Shikaze had killed his human side. If that was possible, I would have to kill Eren's Titan side. But relying on 'ifs' weren't giving me any confidence of surviving the battle. Already, my eyes had started to fuzz up.

I crouched in the small hole. Lightning flew out and struck as the hardened skin hit its mark and sealed the last wall. I limped toward where Eren and the Ape Titan were fighting. All of a sudden, the Ape Titan was knocked down.

He stayed down.

Humanity won? I thought dimly as a Titan spotted me and started walking in my direction. That's great. Another wave of exhaustion hit my legs, and I collapsed, my eyes slowly closing.

_"Aer!" Lilli complained. "Are we there yet?"_

_ "Almost," I replied, trying to hold my patience. Lilli and I were meeting Onyx at the base of a willow tree. He had submitted a form to be part of a Trainees Squad when he grew older. Father even told him he would put in a good word or two about him._

_ "Almost? I'm hungry," she mumbled. "Can we buy a cookie later?"_

_ I sighed. "Alright."_

_ "Yay!" She cheered, jumping up and down excitedly. "Let's hurry then!" She grabbed my hand, and together, we ran to the base of the willow tree. The branches swayed gently back and forth. "Let's meet here again!"_

Lilli. I needed to find Lilli. I picked myself up and weakly threw a sword at the Titan. It blinded him and I trudged away. The willow tree was close by. I could probably find it. And Lilli would be there, waiting for me.

I walked slowly, my footsteps echoing in the dirt. The shifters had channeled their anger into power. Even though the Ape Titan was dead, I wasn't too sure about the outcome of this battle anymore. It was unexpected that they would be angry that Shikaze had died. I personally thought they would surrender instead.

The willow tree was older and taller now. At the base, there was a small grave. Lilies had been planted around the small grave, and I kneeled in front of it, my eyes scrutinizing the small letters.

_Here lies the girl_

_Who brought joy to many_

_Lilli Monica Zakarius_

_Daughter of Mike and Layla Zakarius_

_Sister to Aerellia Jaeger and Onyx Zakarius_

_Friend to All_

_Rest in Peace, my beloved_

I smiled feebly at the tomb. She had died. Lilli had died? Impossible. She couldn't have died. Onyx. Onyx would be able to tell me, right?

For a split second, the haze and blurriness was lifted over my eyes, and I could see clearly again.

She had died.

She had died, and I had watched her die.

She was crying and calling out my name.

I faintly walked away. For my actions, she had died. Once again, the fatigue rushed to my head, and I swayed back and forth, not even knowing where I was going anymore. I saw Rivaille. He looked wounded though.

There was a Titan reaching for him. Without thinking, I flipped up my hood and sped past right in front of the Titan, drawing its attention away from him to me. I looked back and saw him looking at me with a confused expression.

I ran away from that area. If no one was going to punish me for what I did, I guess I would have to do it myself. I would die with no one watching. I won't let anyone cry over my death. Because this is my way of apologizing.

I killed that Titan. No way was I going to die at the hands of a mindless Titan. I leaned against the ruined wall of a house, breathing in and out. My breaths were slowing down, and I couldn't even see anything anymore.

_The day I ask for your forgiveness is the day I say goodbye forevermore._

_Forgive me, Eren, Rivaille._

_I'm coming, Lilli._

Third Person P.O.V.

Humanity had won. Dallis Zacklay had deemed Wall Sina and Rose fit for humans to reside in, but Wall Maria needed more cleanup. Titans had been locked in there and aimlessly walked around.

It was enough hassle doing cleanup in Wall Sina and Rose. The Special Operations Squad were congratulated very often and gifts from rich nobles were often delivered to them, as thanks for killing humanity's enemy.

In the eyes of the people, they were heroes, having saved all of humanity from complete extinction.

Little did everyone know that once cleanup finished, they would find a dead girl leaning against a house, eyes glassy and smiling. But she was also crying.

"_Life is short. And nobody wants to die too fast."_

_ "When the day comes, a Coordinate will die, be it that kid or Aerellia."_

_ "Then we're almost like sisters! I'm Asian as well."_

_ "And you're the girl who survived a few years in Titan territory."_

_ "Aerellia Jaeger is dead because of the Titans."_

_ "Her existence can't possibly be human or Titan."_

_ "It always seemed like the better choice. To fly."_

Aer's P.O.V.

I sat in a wooden chair, playing with a piece of thread. All around me were picture frames that held my memories. I was bored. This was probably what they called Purgatory. After all, the picture frames only held my negative memories.

"Aer." I turned and saw a girl. She held an uncanny resemblance to me, face and all. "Why are you here?"

"Obviously, I died," I retorted. "Who are you?"

She looked at me sadly. "I'm Aerellia Shikaze. You are Aer Zakarius. We are both Aerellia Jaeger. But now all three are dead. "

"That made no sense whatsoever."

"Tell me. Why did you die? You could have let Eren Jaeger die. That would be the easiest option to survive the battle with your life." She sat down in another chair. Where she got it I had no clue. "I'm intrigued in your particular situation."

"What are you, a therapist?" I asked. She shook her head and I sighed. "I knew I was always fated to die. Even when I lost my memory, I knew I had to die. It's always been like that. From the beginning, I resolved to make sure Eren would survive the war despite being a Coordinate. For god's sake, he just got married. I'm not that cruel of a person to rip apart a newlywed couple a day after their wedding."

"It seems like you hated yourself from the beginning." She observed. "Why didn't you try to avoid that fate though? Our future is not engraved in stone. We can change it. To be more accurate, it's almost like clay. Based on our actions, we can change the future."

"Why would I?' I asked harshly. "I let my younger sister die. My older brother has a wound that will never heal. He's on the verge of committing suicide too, if not for the fact I hadn't remembered I had let Lilli die at the time. Eren and Mikasa don't understand why I didn't shift before to save Carla Jaeger. And Rivaille doesn't know what to do with me."

"You weren't directly related to your sister. Your older brother was there as well and has no reason to blame you for his sister's death. Both are at fault for going to the Scouting Corps in the first place. Eren and Mikasa never knew you had no choice but to go to the Zakarius family." Aerellia Shikaze pointed out all of the faults. "And Rivaille could have told you, but chose not to. You're avoiding the question, Aer. Why didn't you try to survive?"

"I don't know!" I exploded. "Maybe it was the fact that everyone depended on me too much!"

"Bingo," she smiled softly. She took my hand and started drawing on my wrist with her fingers, making long, curling strokes. "I will do you a favor. You are my twin. There are no twins in the world who hate each other. I will kill your Titan side. Your human side will be free."

"What?" My arm started to tingle. "How?"

She only smiled. "Fly with these wings, Aer. Aerellia Jaeger will die. I will die. The Wings of Freedom have always been on your back. In this illusion you have created, you can fly in freedom. But if you never try, your wings will be bound to the earth."

Where had I heard those words before?

The book. I reached out to her, about to say something before my vision went completely dark.

Third Person P.O.V.

The squad was eating dinner at the main cafeteria. Though humanity had won, the aura woven over this particular team was dark and gloomy. "Anyone else think that this is the best meal we've had so far?" Onyx unconvincingly tried to make conversation.

"We did capture back a lot of land," Eren said, "So there's more meat than usual." Mikasa put a hand on his shoulder, worried. "Mikasa, I'm fine." She shook her head and hugged him, scarf dangling over her shoulder.

"What's with the negative-ish feelings around here?" A new voice broke the silence. "One would think you would be at least a little bit happier now that you don't have to put your life on the line anymore."

Aer stood over them, smiling, even as tears flowed down her cheeks. "I'm back, everyone."

Five Years Later…

Aer's P.O.V.

I watched Lilli go on her toes to try to clean the upper window with a small washcloth. She was five years old now. Rivaille was right next to her, watching as she trembled in her attempt to clean the high window. He had stripped off his traveling cloak, jacket, and sash and had instead replaced them with a cloth tied around his hair. He always did that whenever he cleaned. Nowadays, not many people were given permission to use 3DMG, so Rivaille's was on the kitchen table, just waiting to be used again after five years.

"Rivaille, just help her already," I said, giggling. She had tears forming at the corners of her eyes. The art of impeccable cleaning had been introduced to her at an early age.

I blame Rivaille for that.

He was watching her with an amused expression, arms folded, and boots tapping the wooden cabin floor, but when I spoke, he lifted her up in his arms and she successfully reached the window. "I know that."

"Of course you do," I replied. The door burst open, and Hanji, Eren, and Mikasa marched through it.

Hanji immediately went on to teasing Rivaille. "What a good father you are, Ri-chan!" She smiled at Lilli. "But I still don't know why you didn't want me to name her..," she muttered, having a dark aura around her.

I watched Eren and Mikasa lead their son into the cabin. He was a few months older than Lilli, and the duo were great playmates. "How's Onyx?" I asked.

"He's the head of the Military Police now," Mikasa said, "He told us to send you his regards." She smiled as she watched the two children play together.

Later on, I watched as Rivaille put down flowers at four graves. Petra Ral, Auruo Bossard, Erd Gin, and Gunter Shulz. He watched them for a long time. Lilli tugged at my shirt. "Why does Daddy look so sad?"

"He misses some friends of his." I whispered, patting her hair. I walked up to Rivaille. "It never gets easier. But everyone would want us to move on. Right?" Though the first Special Operations Squad had died over five years ago, we had made a habit of visiting every year.

I couldn't complain; I did the same with Lilli's grave. He nodded, but I could see his mask breaking. Gently, I hugged him, his face pressed into my shoulder. I figured out that whenever he cried, he preferred for people not to see.

As I patted his back, I saw four figures. They were smiling. A girl with amber hair and eyes waved at me. Then, as I watched them, bloodstained and cloaked in the Scouting Legion gear, they turned around and walked away, fading into the air.

"Daddy?" Lilli tugged on his shirt too. Without saying anything, Rivaille lifted her up in his arms. She laughed, obviously delighted.

He met my gaze, and I smiled. He smiled back, which was kind of weird, but cute all the same. "You can fly in freedom now."

* * *

Phew! We're finally at the ending! I would like to thank everyone who followed, favorited, or reviewed this story! You guys gave me so much inspiration! Anyway, if you liked this story, check out my new Rivaille x OC fanfic, called Till This Nightmare Ends. Thanks for reading! Please review!


	13. UPDATE

UPDATE!

I have finally published the first chapter of Till This Nightmare Ends. Please read and review! I would really like to hear what you think of the fanfic. Anyway, I've been thinking about a few more pairings for Till This Nightmare Ends. I'm obviously going to be doing a Levi x OC, but I could also incorporate other pairings as well. -The ones with the stars are ones I'm most likely going to mix in-

Here are the pairings I'm willing to put in:

Armin x Annie**

Eren x Mikasa**

Christa x Ymir

Sasha x Connie

Jean x OC

Reiner x OC

And possibly Erwin x OC

Review on this story or the other one, but tell me which pairings you want me to put in!


End file.
